(Credit: X)
X has released its first transparency report under Elon Musk's ownership, highlighting content moderation practices that have resulted in the platform removing millions of posts and accounts.
In the first half of 2024, X suspended 5.3 million accounts, up from 1.3 million in the second half of 2021 and 1.6 million in the first six months of 2022. The top reason for suspension was spreading content about child sexual exploitation (2.8 million accounts).
X also removed 10.6 million posts, 5 million of which it categorized as "hateful" content, which researchers say has skyrocketed under Musk's leadership. The company also says it complied with 71% of legal requests to remove content, up from 20% the last time X reported the figure in 2021, according to The Washington Post. That was not the case in Brazil recently, where Musk's refusal to remove accounts led to X being banned in the country.
(Credit: X)The 15-page report is shorter than those released in the past. Still, it touts the company's policing system, which leans on automated removal and human review, despite Musk claiming "censorship on this platform was lifted" when he took over.
X championed the report's release today and provided advance copies to select media, even though Musk said over the summer that "you can really ignore mainstream media." For a time, the X press inbox automatically responded to inquiries with a poop emoji,
Why push out the report now? Musk called transparency "the key to trust" in 2022 but still declined to publish a report last year. However, X now faces declining advertising revenue amid reports of the platform allowing offensive content and hate speech. According to the transparency report, instances of abuse and harassment made up 36.5% of user reports but only 21% of the reason for X suspending accounts.
In the first half of 2024, advertisers spent almost $744 million on X, down 24% from the first half of 2023, according to Quartz, citing data from ad tracking company MediaRadar. Ad dollars make up nearly 90% of the company's income, but X's efforts to court that revenue have included suing an ad group that encouraged a boycott and Musk telling advertisers to "go fuck yourself."
According to X, today's report "highlights the extensive efforts by our Safety team to cultivate a healthy and secure environment, reaffirming that X remains a safe platform for all users." Will advertisers agree?