from thefreeonline on 28th Sept 2023 by West -Censored News
The bloc claims to have ‘objectively evaluated’ social media platforms using secret ‘proprietary metrics‘
X (formerly Twitter) has the worst ratio of disinformation and misinformation to fact-based content of all major social media platforms, the EU’s values and transparency commissioner Vera Jourova claimed in a speech on Tuesday.
The platform’s level of factual content was supposedly measured using a set of newly created metrics devised by signatories to the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation, which X abandoned in May due to differences of opinion on the subject of censorship between the bloc and then-CEO Elon Musk.
see also Internet Censorship Galore as UK Online Safety Bill Becomes Law
“Disinformation actors” also had significantly more followers than their non-disinformation counterparts and had joined the platform more recently, according to Jourova, who admitted the methodology was in a “pilot phase” running in just three EU member states. She shared no further details about how the results were calculated or how disinformation was distinguished from fact-based content.
EU values and transparency commissioner Vera Jourova © Getty Images / Kenzo Tribouillard
Jourova warned “very large platforms” – a category that includes X – that they must prioritize information control ahead of upcoming EU elections, reminding them that the Digital Services Act, the EU’s far-reaching internet content moderation legislation, had made aspects of the Code of Practice legally binding starting last month even for platforms that have not voluntarily opted in.
The DSA requires that these platforms implement “reasonable, proportionate, and effective mitigation measures” to manage risks identified by the European Commission and devise reporting and mitigation plans subject to audit and oversight by the Commission.
Jourova declared, “The Russian state has engaged in the war of ideas to pollute our information space with half-truth and lies to create a false image that democracy is no better than autocracy,” demanding social media behemoths step up their participation in the EU’s crusade against Moscow.
Read more ‘We don’t see pro-Russia propaganda’ on X (aka Twitter) – Musk
NewsGuard, Microsoft’s Pentagon-sponsored disinformation watchdog, also claimed in a report on Tuesday that Musk’s decision to remove the state-backed media labels on accounts affiliated with governments considered unfriendly to the US led to an explosion in disinformation and other nefarious influence operations by those accounts.
see also EU’s Draconian Social Media Censorship Laws Are Now Officially Enforceable | ZeroHedge
Russian, Chinese, and Iranian English-language news media accounts saw a 70% increase in engagement in the 90 days following the removal of the labels, according to the report, which acknowledged that the state-backed media label had suppressed those accounts’ content from search results and warned users who attempted to share it that they were spreading propaganda.
Brussels warned following Musk’s purchase of the company that X would have “huge work” ahead of it to comply with the DSA, insisting the platform then known as Twitter was not “living up to their commitments” to remove so-called hate speech. However, according to a report by the technology publication Rest of World, compliance with government content removal requests has increased significantly under Musk, from 50% before he bought the company to 80% in April.
27 Sep, 2023 09:16
RT surges after X (aka Twitter) removes censorship – ‘disinformation’ lobbyist NewsGuard
NewsGuard has accused Elon Musk of “pushing propaganda” after buying the platform
FILE PHOTO: Russian media, including RT, participating at SPIEF-2023 © Sputnik / Alexey Mayshev
NewsGuard, a self-proclaimed disinformation watchdog, has lamented the rise in popularity of RT and 11 other news outlets after Elon Musk relaxed censorship on X (formerly Twitter).
Among 12 media accounts analyzed, RT experienced the highest engagement growth in the 90 days following Musk’s decision in April to remove ‘government-funded’ and ‘state-affiliated’ labels from certain outlets, NewsGuard said on Tuesday. The number of ‘likes’ and reposts for RT’s account increased to 2.5 million in the period studied, up from 1.3 million.
The analysis focused on Chinese, Iranian, and Russian media outlets, which NewsGuard branded “state-run disinformation sources” and purveyors of “propaganda.”
NewsGuard cited political memes posted by Iranian news accounts as purported examples of disinformation.
Another instance was supposedly a link shared by Iran’s PressTV to an article on remarks made by US presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who argued that Americans “created” the Islamic State terrorist group.
Kennedy made the claim during an election rally in Boston, where he accused Washington of decades of misguided foreign policy. Iran is condemned for ‘misinformation’ for reporting the public words of a US Presidential candidate.
The self-described disinformation watchdog advocates imposing strict moderation on online platforms to protect users from supposed foreign influence. NewsGuard’s rating of news outlets generally labels mainstream Western media as trustworthy, while outlets linked with governments opposed by the US are branded deceitful.
‘NewsGuard’ app gives news sites ‘trust’ ratings & targets alternative media. What could go wrong? Another day, another effort to combat ‘fake news’ online. This time it’s NewsGuard, a new app claiming to help….
Among NewsGuard’s advisers is Michael Hayden, a former head of the CIA and the NSA. He was notably one of the more than 50 former intelligence officials who claimed in 2020 that the factual New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
Others include former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, and former US Under Secretary of State Richard Stengel. .
The latter stated publicly that his job in the Obama administration was jokingly described as “chief propagandist” by others.
The Pentagon and Microsoft have contracted NewsGuard services.
The report heavily implied that the lack of X labels for the likes of RT was to blame for the rise in engagements, as it is now “impossible for users to know whether an account is government-affiliated” simply by looking at posts.
see also.. Pro-American German tabloid ‘alarmed’ over RT’s influence
NewsGuard claimed that the 12 accounts in question are attempting to conceal their associations, such as when RT rebranded from its previous name Russia Today. The report described the move as taking place “several years ago,” although the rebranding was implemented in 2009.
Musk, who formally stepped down as CEO of X (then Twitter) in June, ordered the ‘government-funded’ and ‘state-affiliated’ labels to be removed amid a row with America’s NPR, which exited the platform after being branded. Around the same time, X ended its ‘shadow-ban’ on RT and others, lifting a restriction imposed under the previous executive leadership.
see also… US urged to focus on Latin America because of RT
The subsequent publication of the ‘Twitter Files’ has detailed extensive US government oversight and pressure on the social media company to amplify Pentagon talking points over dissenting voices.
NewsGuard conceded that Musk’s move to end restrictions on X, which it described as “pushing” undesirable accounts, may have benefited them.
In August, NATO’s Strategic Communications Center of Excellence blamed Musk for a “dramatic rise” in the visibility of Russian government and media accounts.
The Free 