Social media is a breeding ground for conspiracy and misinformation, and Twitter is no exception. Despite a change of ownership that has not improved the situation, quite the contrary, independent groups are waging a fierce fight against this phenomenon.
Alas, the battle is sometimes so difficult that the members of these collectives have to resort to stratagems which risk leading to sanctions against their accounts.
Push Holocaust deniers to their last entrenchments
Despite its firm positions for several years, such as the suspension of Donald Trump’s account, Twitter has never banned climate skepticism. Therefore, misinformation about climate change and the denial of the global consensus on this subject can freely circulate there.
Faced with this situation, a collective of 25 scientists and activists from around the world decided to take up arms and fight against the climate skepticism raging on the platform. baptized Team Ninja Trollhunters (or TNT), his hunting technique for ” troll is quite simple: pissing them off by contradicting their claims.
” Climate deniers are quite often very violent when correcting their climate misinformation. Bullying and abuse are very common “says a member of TNT. ” If they say anything racist, offensive or misogynistic, we can have them deported “adds another.
This kind of hate speech being prohibited on Twitter, the collective claims to have obtained the suspension of around 600 accounts of Holocaust deniers since 2019. A more than honorable score, however tarnished by the arrival of Elon Musk.
The Elon Musk era, synonymous with misinformation on Twitter
Indeed, following its takeover by the South African billionaire, the social network eased its moderation in the name of freedom of expression, dear to its new owner. While this move is commendable, the researchers estimate that, at the same time, tens of thousands of previously suspended accounts, some for incitement to violence, harassment or misinformation, have made a comeback.
Result: various studies report an upsurge in misinformation on Twitter. The situation becomes all the more serious as the introduction of the new paid certification system allows Holocaust denier accounts to acquire relative legitimacy. To the great displeasure of the TNT team, which is forced to redouble its efforts to silence messages likely to reach a wider audience.
Despite this, the group does not seem to give up. Last March, he managed to have an account that was spreading climate misinformation removed by flagging some of his tweets about immigration to the UK. However, to glean from such publications, the members sometimes indulge in equally hateful remarks, with one of them even calling a Holocaust denier ” lobotomized moron who cackles “.
The group admits all the same to have to change technique and to concentrate on the recall of the scientific consensus, rather than on the report of the abusive remarks. So, instead of causing suspensions, TNT focuses more on the victims of misinformation rather than its broadcasters. Ridicule rather than ban, an effective solution?
Source : West France
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