A top European Union official on Tuesday asserted that X, formerly Twitter, was the social media platform with the “largest ratio of mis/disinformation posts,” and Moscow was using it to Russia’s advantage.
EU Vice President Věra Jourová accused Russia of waging a disinformation war that threatens upcoming elections within the 27-nation organization and amid Russia’s 19-month-long war in Ukraine.
“Russian war against Ukraine, and the upcoming EU elections next year, are particularly relevant, because the risk of disinformation is particulary serious,” Jourová said during a meeting with EU Code of Practice on Disinformation Signatories. “The Russian state has engaged in the war of ideas to pollute our information space with half-truth and lies to create a false image that democracy is no better than autocracy.”
According to Jourová, Russia is engaging in a “weapon of mass manipulation” inside Russia and around the world.
She noted that other internet platforms, including Facebook, Google, YouTube and TikTok, were among 44 companies that have joined in an effort to stop the spread of disinformation.
The European Union has issued an analysis of posts that will become illegal under the organization’s Digital Services Act, legislation that wend into effect in November 2022.
X owner Elon Musk responded to the EU’s accusations in a posting on his own platform, writing, “Don’t want to blow their minds, but there is a slight possibility that not everything is Russian disinformation.”
