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EU warns X over Israel-Hamas disinformation

Online Disinformation - Level 4

Social media is full of information about Israel and Gaza. There are concerns about how much of it is fake. The EU opened an investigation into the website X. The EU says there is an alarming amount of false information on the site. The EU is worried X is, "being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation". It gave X until the end of next week to answer questions about this content. The EU could fine X five per cent of the company's daily turnover.

The EU probe is looking at how tech companies deal with hate speech. The EU advised X to introduce, "proportionate and effective mitigation measures" to identify and delete disinformation. It added: "We have…reports about potentially illegal content circulating on X." Hundreds of bogus accounts are flooding the Internet with harmful content. X has removed hundreds of these. A social media expert called this, "a drop in the ocean".

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Online Disinformation - Level 5

Social media is awash with information about the events in Israel and Gaza. There are concerns about how much of it is fake. The European Union has opened an investigation into the website X, formerly known as Twitter. The EU says there is an alarming amount of posts with false information on X. The EU expressed concern that X was, "being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation". X has until the end of next week to answer EU questions about this content. Failure to reply could lead the EU to a fine on X of up to five per cent of the company's daily turnover.

The EU probe into X comes under the Digital Services Act. This was set up to monitor how tech companies deal with hate speech, and how they police the Internet. The EU advised X to introduce, "proportionate and effective mitigation measures" to identify and delete disinformation. It added: "We have…reports about potentially illegal content circulating on X, despite flags from relevant authorities." Hundreds of bogus accounts have been flooding the Internet with harmful content. X has removed hundreds of these accounts. A social media expert called this, "a drop in the ocean".

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Online Disinformation - Level 6

Social media is awash with information and graphics about the ongoing events in Israel and Gaza. There are concerns about how much of the content posted online is fake. The European Union has just opened an investigation into the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. The EU says there is an alarming volume of posts containing false information on X. EU officials have expressed concern that X was, "being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation". X has until the end of next week to answer a series of EU questions about this content. Failure to satisfactorily address these issues could lead the EU to impose a fine on X of up to five per cent of the company's daily global turnover.

The EU probe into X comes under the bloc's Digital Services Act. This was established to monitor how large tech companies deal with the hate speech posted on their platforms, and how they police the Internet. An EU spokesperson advised X to introduce, "proportionate and effective mitigation measures" to identify and delete disinformation. He added: "We have, from qualified sources, reports about potentially illegal content circulating on X, despite flags from relevant authorities." Hundreds of bogus accounts have been flooding the Internet with harmful and inflammatory content. The CEO of X said the site had removed hundreds of these accounts. A social media expert lamented this was, "a drop in the ocean".

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson