Is Twitter Anti-Truth?

Twitter policies are undermining efforts to detect and counter disinformation.

First, the company stopped providing free data access to a number of important research tools. Researchers used these tools to study the spread of misinformation and journalists used them to avoid spreading misinformation. The tools are created and maintained by nonprofits and academics, so many of them won't be able to afford the new pricing, which is $42,000 to $210,000 per month to get a decent sample size.

Second, Twitter pulled out of the EU's voluntary disinformation code. Code signatories agree to a number of measures aimed at combating disinformation, including demonetization of disinfo campaigns, political ad transparency, cooperating with fact-checkers, and providing disinformation researchers with access to data.

Third, a new study found that Twitter's algorithm amplifies content that expresses animosity toward political opponents. "Our results indicate that the [Twitter] algorithm amplifies emotional content, and especially those tweets that express anger and out-group animosity. Furthermore, political tweets from the algorithm lead readers to perceive their political in-group more positively and their political out-group more negatively," the researchers wrote.

When billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter, he said he wanted it to be a free speech platform. While he has been inconsistent at best with this goal, I applaud the intent. A free speech platform must allow some misinformation, but there are simple steps that Musk can take to both allow free speech and combat disinformation. But Musk doesn't seem interested in either of those things, which is turning Twitter into the worst combination — anti-free speech and anti-truth.

In Other News ...

• A study found that people believe misinformation is more widespread than it actually is and people believe others are more gullible to believe misinformation than they actually are.

• Dirty politics entrepreneur Roger Stone claims that a modern prophecy about a stone killing a giant is actually about him.

• At the National Religious Broadcasters Conference, Eric Metaxas told the audience that “the Lord wants Trump to be president in this next term" because of "something to do with anointing."

• Jake Angeli, aka the J6 Horn Guy, aka the QAnon Shaman, is out of a halfway house and one of his first appearances was at a church. He's also taking advantage of his celebrity to sell swag bearing his image.