Elon Musk’s takeover of X — formerly known asTwitter— has been tumultuous, to say the least. Aside from the name change, Musk has also made several changes to how people use the site and manage the visibility of their content. TheFreedom of Speech, Not Reachpolicy that rolled out in April doubled down on the company’s intent to micromanage the content across the platform. Now, X is adding more people to its safety and elections teams and updating its Civil Integrity Policy to curb political misinformation.
X specifiedthat the goal is not to censor political debate, but rather prevent any deception or intimidation that may interfere in a civic process. Per the announcement, posted by the X Safety division, the safety and elections teams will attempt to crack down on content manipulation. They will also be responsible for monitoring the platform for threats, as well as inauthentic accounts spreading misinformation.
All of these moves are meant to align with the company’s Freedom of Speech, Not Freedom of Reach philosophy. Under this policy, posts that violate X’s rules have restricted visibility and labels that indicate they have been limited.
Interestingly, political ads will be permitted on the platform as a part of X’s “commitment to free expression.” Beginning in the US, advertisers will be able to promote these types of posts, so long as they meet the company’s policies. This means they cannot include or promote inaccurate information, nor can they promote misleading information that could undermine public confidence in an election. In an effort to maintain transparency, X says that everyone will be able to review these posts, as well as its vetting process.
This wouldn’t be the first time that policy changes have ruffled the feathers of platform users. X has made several updates that have impacted how people use the site. Earlier this month, Musk announced that he would like toeliminate the blocking feature on X, with the exception of direct messages. This sparked concerns over abuse and harassment on the platform. In July, X alsolimited direct messages between usersbased on their premium subscription status.
X continues to insist that many of its moves are designed to preserve freedom of speech. However, policy changes seem to be adding more restrictions to what can and can’t be said on the site. The looming US presidential election may provide transparent insight into how X intends to moderate content in the future.
