X didn’t take action on 86 percent of hate speech posts: report

X, formerly known as Twitter, did not take action against a majority of posts with “extreme hate speech,” according to a new report from an anti-hate-speech organization.

Research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an organization that tracks online hate speech and misinformation, found X did not take action against 86 percent of posts containing hate speech when monitored, according to a report published Wednesday. 

Taking a sample of 300 posts from 100 accounts that were categorized as having hate speech, CCDH researchers found 259, or 86.33 percent, of the 300 posts were still up on the platform one week after being reported to moderators. The CCDH said 90 out of the 100 accounts also remained active. 

The posts that were not taken down included those that denied the Holocaust, mocked Holocaust victims, glorified the Nazis, condemned interracial relationships, as well as racist memes, according to the CCDH. 

Researchers identified a subset of 140 posts that specifically promoted antisemitism and found X left up 119, or 85 percent, of the 140 posts. 

The nonprofit watchdog group said each post was in “clear violation” of X’s hateful conduct policies. 

The findings follow a series of reports tracking hate speech against minority groups — including LGBTQ individuals, Muslims and Jews, as well as disinformation and misinformation — on social media platforms, including X. 

In a report published in June, the CCDH similarly found X did not act on 99 percent of tweets from 100 verified Twitter Blue accounts that the organization flagged as tweeting hateful views.

Later in July, Elon Musk’s X Corp, the parent company of X, filed a lawsuit against the CCDH, alleging the nonprofit improperly gained access to data on the platform for its research.

Last week, Musk accused the Anti-Defamation League of “trying to kill” X and threatened a lawsuit against the group, which similarly fights against hate speech and antisemitism.

Since purchasing the platform last fall, Musk has come under fire for a series of controversial choices including his emphasis on free speech and scaling back on content moderation.

“Musk claims to be pro-free speech, yet he has proven incredibly thin-skinned, issuing legal threats when criticized for his botched management of Twitter/ X. It is not free speech but hate speech which has truly prospered in his time at Twitter/ X, emboldened by his interactions with far-right white supremacists and conspiracy theorists,” CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed wrote in a statement.

“Impunity for loud bigots creates a hostile environment for the victims of abuse and most folks who don’t want to venture into a cesspit of hatred every day,” he continued. 

In an interview with CNBC last month, X. Corp CEO Linda Yaccarino pushed back on recent criticism of X, claiming it is now a “much healthier and safer platform” than it was a year ago. Yaccarino said the platform has built brand safety and content moderation tools that have “never existed” before Musk’s purchase of the platform. 

Yaccarino pointed to the company’s recently introduced “Freedom of Speech, not Freedom of Reach” enforcement policy, which the company described as, “where appropriate, restricting the reach of Tweets that violate our policies by making the content less discoverable.”