With Election Day literally around the corner, one threat that deserves a lot more attention is Elon Musk's ability — as the owner of X — to spread election disinformation and help Donald Trump. Musk has already used his platform to amplify baseless claims around voter fraud in Pennsylvania and rehash conspiracy theories about the "stolen" 2020 election.
Election officials across the country are already doing everything they can to counter misinformation in real time — they're calling out false claims, sharing verified information and taking to the airwaves to clarify facts. But Musk has made it clear he's not interested in engaging with election officials or correcting incorrect statements. Stephen Richer, a Republican election official in Maricopa County, Arizona, shared the great lengths he and others have gone to — including having friends "hand deliver" materials to Musk personally — to try to curb the spread of misinformation on X. But so far, according to Richer, all attempts have been unsuccessful.
What's more, under Musk, X seems to be giving false election claims even more traction than before. Despite Musk's claims that X's "fact-checking program" would be able to keep falsehoods in check, false and misleading posts are estimated to have received billions of views this election cycle.
Musk's own account has over 200 million followers. And though many secretaries of state have worked aggressively to correct false posts, it's practically impossible for government officials to keep up with Musk's multibillion-dollar misinformation mouthpiece. While Trump may follow the same playbook as 2020, back then he didn't have Musk to amplify his disinformation. And that alone should be cause for concern.
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