{"id":444660,"date":"2022-05-10T13:16:24","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T10:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong\/"},"modified":"2022-05-10T13:16:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T10:16:24","slug":"musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"#Musk claims moderation stifles free speech on Twitter. He\u2019s wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2409c6c7ced\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2409c6c7ced\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong\/#%E2%80%9CMusk_claims_moderation_stifles_free_speech_on_Twitter_Hes_wrong%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Musk claims moderation stifles free speech on Twitter. He\u2019s wrong&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong\/#Political_bias\" >Political bias<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong\/#Referees_or_censors\" >Referees or censors?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong\/#Manipulating_Twitter\" >Manipulating Twitter<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-on-twitter-hes-wrong\/#Content_moderation_and_free_speech\" >Content moderation and free speech<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CMusk_claims_moderation_stifles_free_speech_on_Twitter_Hes_wrong%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Musk claims moderation stifles free speech on Twitter. He\u2019s wrong&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            Elon Musk\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/04\/25\/tech\/elon-musk-twitter-sale-agreement\/index.html\">accepted bid<\/a> to purchase Twitter has triggered a lot of debate about what it means for the future of the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> platform, which plays an important role in determining the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> and information many people \u2013 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/journalism\/2021\/09\/20\/news-consumption-across-social-media-in-2021\/\">especially Americans<\/a> \u2013 are exposed to.<\/p>\n<p>Musk has said he wants to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TEDTalks\/status\/1514739086908555272\">make Twitter an arena for free speech<\/a>. It\u2019s not clear what that will mean, and his statements have fueled speculation among both supporters and detractors. As a corporation, Twitter can regulate speech on its platform as it chooses. There are bills being considered in the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cdt.org\/insights\/independent-researcher-access-to-social-media-data-comparing-legislative-proposals\/\">U.S. Congress<\/a> and by the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/why-eu-decided-tech-giants-cant-police-social-media\/2022\/04\/25\/6a8131fc-c465-11ec-8cff-33b059f4c1b7_story.html\">European Union<\/a> that address social media regulation, but these are about transparency, accountability, illegal harmful content, and protecting users\u2019 rights, rather than regulating speech.<\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s calls for free speech on Twitter focus on two allegations: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1519363666377908225\">political bias<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1519073003933515776\">excessive moderation<\/a>. As <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=f_kGJwkAAAAJ&amp;hl=en\">researchers of online misinformation and manipulation<\/a>, my colleagues and I at the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/osome.iu.edu\/\">Indiana University Observatory on Social Media<\/a> study the dynamics and impact of Twitter and its abuse. To make sense of Musk\u2019s statements and the possible outcomes of his acquisition, let\u2019s look at what the research shows.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Political_bias\"><\/span>Political bias<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Many <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/509619-jordan-confronts-tech-ceos-with-claims-of-anti-conservative-bias\/\">conservative politicians<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/benshapiro\/status\/1316740671441711104\">pundits<\/a> have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/09\/05\/technology\/lawmakers-facebook-twitter-foreign-influence-hearing.html\">alleged<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cjr.org\/the_media_today\/tech-biased-against-conservatives.php\">for years<\/a> that major social media platforms, including Twitter, have a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/internet\/2020\/08\/19\/most-americans-think-social-media-sites-censor-political-viewpoints\/\">liberal political bias<\/a> amounting to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2020\/05\/27\/trump-twitter-label\/\">censorship of conservative opinions<\/a>. These claims are based on anecdotal evidence. For example, many partisans whose tweets were labeled as misleading and downranked, or whose accounts were suspended for violating the platform\u2019s terms of service, claim that Twitter targeted them because of their political views.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Twitter and other platforms often <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2022\/04\/elon-musk-buy-twitter-free-speech\/629571\/\">inconsistently enforce their policies<\/a>, so it is easy to find examples supporting one conspiracy theory or another. A review by the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University has found <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stern.nyu.edu\/experience-stern\/faculty-research\/false-accusation-unfounded-claim-social-media-companies-censor-conservatives\">no reliable evidence<\/a> in support of the claim of anti-conservative bias by social media companies, even labeling the claim itself a form of disinformation.<\/p>\n<p>A more direct evaluation of political bias by Twitter is difficult because of the complex interactions between people and algorithms. People, of course, have political biases. For example, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177%2F1461444820942744\">our experiments with political social bots<\/a> revealed that Republican users are more likely to mistake conservative bots for humans, whereas Democratic users are more likely to mistake conservative human users for bots.<\/p>\n<p>To remove human bias from the equation in our experiments, we deployed a bunch of benign social bots on Twitter. Each of these bots started by following one news source, with some bots following a liberal source and others a conservative one. After that initial friend, all bots were left alone to \u201cdrift\u201d in the information ecosystem for a few months. They could gain followers. They acted according to an identical algorithmic behavior. This included following or following back random accounts, tweeting meaningless content and retweeting or copying random posts in their feed.<\/p>\n<p>But this behavior was politically neutral, with no understanding of content seen or posted. We tracked the bots to probe political biases emerging from how Twitter works or how users interact.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"a graphic showing dots of different colors in clusters\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"a graphic showing dots of different colors in clusters\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/460882\/original\/file-20220502-17-ael4ee.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fsocialmedia%2F2022%2F05%2F10%2Fmusk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-twitter-wrong-research%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Neutral bots (yellow nodes) and a sample of their friends and followers in an experiment to measure partisan bias on Twitter. Node color indicates political alignment of an account: red for conservative, blue for liberal, black for unknown. Node size is proportional to share of links to low-credibility sources. The closely connected red clusters indicate conservative echo chambers. Image: Filippo Menczer\" data-title=\"Share Neutral bots (yellow nodes) and a sample of their friends and followers in an experiment to measure partisan bias on Twitter. Node color indicates political alignment of an account: red for conservative, blue for liberal, black for unknown. Node size is proportional to share of links to low-credibility sources. The closely connected red clusters indicate conservative echo chambers. Image: Filippo Menczer on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Neutral bots (yellow nodes) and a sample of their friends and followers in an experiment to measure partisan bias on Twitter. Node color indicates political alignment of an account: red for conservative, blue for liberal, black for unknown. Node size is proportional to share of links to low-credibility sources. The closely connected red clusters indicate conservative echo chambers. Image: Filippo Menczer on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Neutral bots (yellow nodes) and a sample of their friends and followers in an experiment to measure partisan bias on Twitter. Node color indicates political alignment of an account: red for conservative, blue for liberal, black for unknown. Node size is proportional to share of links to low-credibility sources. The closely connected red clusters indicate conservative echo chambers. Image: Filippo Menczer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Surprisingly, our research provided <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1461444820942744\">evidence that Twitter has a conservative, rather than a liberal bias<\/a>. On average, accounts are drawn toward the conservative side. Liberal accounts were exposed to moderate content, which shifted their experience toward the political center, while the interactions of right-leaning accounts were skewed toward posting conservative content. Accounts that followed conservative news sources also received more politically aligned followers, becoming embedded in denser echo chambers and gaining influence within those partisan communities.<\/p>\n<p>These differences in experiences and actions can be attributed to interactions with users and information mediated by the social media platform. But we could not directly examine the possible bias in Twitter\u2019s news feed algorithm, because the actual ranking of posts in the \u201chome timeline\u201d is not available to outside researchers.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers from Twitter, however, were able to audit the effects of their ranking algorithm on political content, unveiling that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2025334119\">the political right enjoys higher amplification<\/a> compared to the political left. Their experiment showed that in six out of seven countries studied, conservative politicians enjoy higher algorithmic amplification than liberal ones. They also found that algorithmic amplification favors right-leaning news sources in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Our research and the research from Twitter show that Musk\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1519363666377908225\">apparent concern about bias<\/a> on Twitter against conservatives is unfounded.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Referees_or_censors\"><\/span>Referees or censors?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The other allegation that Musk seems to be making is that excessive moderation stifles free speech on Twitter. The concept of a free marketplace of ideas is rooted in John Milton\u2019s centuries-old reasoning that truth prevails in a free and open exchange of ideas. This view is often cited as the basis for arguments against moderation: accurate, relevant, timely information should emerge spontaneously from the interactions among users.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/information-overload-helps-fake-news-spread-and-social-media-knows-it\/\">several aspects of modern social media<\/a> hinder the free marketplace of ideas. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/srep00335\">Limited attention<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1745691618803647\">confirmation bias<\/a> increase vulnerability to misinformation. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41598-018-34203-2\">Engagement-based ranking<\/a> can amplify noise and manipulation, and the structure of information networks can <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-020-14394-x\">distort perceptions<\/a> and be <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-019-1507-6\">\u201cgerrymandered\u201d to favor one group<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, social media users have in past years become victims of manipulation by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ojs.aaai.org\/index.php\/ICWSM\/article\/view\/14127\">\u201castroturf\u201d causes<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3292522.3326016\">trolling<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.aao2998\">misinformation<\/a>. Abuse is facilitated by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/2818717\">social bots<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ojs.aaai.org\/index.php\/ICWSM\/article\/view\/18075\">coordinated networks<\/a> that create the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earance of human crowds.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" srcdoc=\"&lt;style&gt;*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden}html,body{background:#000;height:100%}img{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;transition:opacity .1s cubic-bezier(0.4,0,1,1)}a:hover img+img{opacity:1!important}&lt;\/style&gt;&lt;a href=\" https:=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/bTj664taegw\/hqdefault.jpg\" style=\"top: 50%;left:50%;width:68px;height:48px;transform:translate3d(-50%,-50%,0)\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">How disinformation works on social media and how to spot it.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We and other researchers have observed these inauthentic accounts <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41467-018-06930-7\">amplifying disinformation<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0214210\">influencing elections<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1109\/TCSS.2021.3059286\">committing financial fraud<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1803470115\">infiltrating vulnerable communities<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-3-319-47874-6_19\">disrupting communication<\/a>. Musk has tweeted that he wants to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1517215066550116354\">defeat spam bots and authenticate humans<\/a>, but these are neither easy nor necessarily effective solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Inauthentic accounts are used for malicious <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/news\/2019\/09\/18\/malicious-bots-and-trolls-spread-vaccine-misinformation\/\">purposes beyond spam<\/a> and are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cacm.acm.org\/magazines\/2016\/7\/204021-the-rise-of-social-bots\/fulltext\">hard to detect<\/a>, especially when they are operated by people in conjunction with software algorithms. And removing anonymity may <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/elon-musks-comments-about-twitter-dont-square-with-the-social-media-platforms-reality-182023\">harm vulnerable groups<\/a>. In recent years, Twitter has enacted policies and systems to moderate abuses by aggressively suspending accounts and networks displaying inauthentic coordinated behaviors. A weakening of these moderation policies may make abuse rampant again.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Manipulating_Twitter\"><\/span>Manipulating Twitter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite Twitter\u2019s recent progress, integrity is still a challenge on the platform. Our lab is finding new types of sophisticated manipulation, which we will present at the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.icwsm.org\/2022\/index.html\/\">International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media<\/a> in June. Malicious users exploit so-called \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.followchain.org\/follow-train\/\">follow trains<\/a>\u201d \u2013 groups of people who follow each other on Twitter \u2013 to rapidly boost their followers and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2010.13691\">create large, dense hyperpartisan echo chambers<\/a> that amplify toxic content from low-credibility and conspiratorial sources.<\/p>\n<p>Another effective malicious technique is to post and then <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2203.13893\">strategically delete content that violates platform terms<\/a> after it has served its purpose. Even Twitter\u2019s high limit of 2,400 tweets per day can be circumvented through deletions: We identified many accounts that flood the network with tens of thousands of tweets per day.<\/p>\n<p>We also found coordinated networks that engage in repetitive likes and unlikes of content that is eventually deleted, which can manipulate ranking algorithms. These techniques enable malicious users to inflate content popularity while evading detection.<\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s plans for Twitter are unlikely to do anything about these manipulative behaviors.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Content_moderation_and_free_speech\"><\/span>Content moderation and free speech<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Musk\u2019s likely acquisition of Twitter raises concerns that the social media platform could decrease its content moderation. This body of research shows that stronger, not weaker, moderation of the information ecosystem is called for to combat harmful misinformation.<\/p>\n<p>It also shows that weaker moderation policies would ironically hurt free speech: The voices of real users would be drowned out by malicious users who manipulate Twitter through inauthentic accounts, bots, and echo chambers.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/182317\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\"\/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/182317\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\"\" srcset=\"\"\/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/filippo-menczer-317794\">Filippo Menczer<\/a>, Professor of Informatics and Computer <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/indiana-university-1368\">Indiana University,<\/a> is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/elon-musk-is-wrong-research-shows-content-rules-on-twitter-help-preserve-free-speech-from-bots-and-other-manipulation-182317\">original article<\/a>.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/musk-claims-moderation-stifles-free-speech-twitter-wrong-research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Musk claims moderation stifles free speech on Twitter. He\u2019s wrong&#8221; Elon Musk\u2019s accepted bid to purchase Twitter has triggered a lot of debate about what it means for the future of the social media platform, which plays an important role in determining the news and information many people \u2013 especially Americans \u2013 are exposed to&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":444661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/04\/musk-twitter.jpg&signature=0cad7763d19a3ed608c6f01417ecc100","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-444660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}