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Elon Musk announces X algorithm change to combat ‘negativity,’ prompting free speech concerns – LifeSite

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(LifeSiteNews) — Recent comments by tech mogul Elon Musk about modifying his social network X to “maximize unregretted user-seconds” has critics fearing the platform is losing sight of its mission as a model of free speech on the internet.

Tesla and SpaceX chief Musk, who also co-leads returning President Donald Trump’s non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory group, purchased Twitter (which he renamed X) in October 2022 and set to work making it more open and politically neutral. To that end, he instituted a number of reforms to the platform and other actions that overjoyed conservatives, such as replacing so-called fact-checkers with a far more accurate, user-driven Community Notes feature, releasing troves of information about the previous management’s censorship activities, and reinstating numerous high-profile accounts banned by the old regime. 

However, from the start of Musk’s tenure over the platform there were some causes for concern, including his hiring of former World Economic Forum executive chair Linda Yaccarino to take over day-to-day business operations as CEO, giving lip service to the notion that “outrageous” content should be subject to reduced “freedom of reach,” and throttling the reach of posts containing outside links, to encourage users to exclusively use the platform’s native features without clicking away. But for the most part, conservatives have been pleased by the new X.

However, since Christmas, Musk has detailed a number of changes to the platform that have not gone over well among many who used to sing his praises.

On December 26, he revealed that if “far more credible, verified subscriber accounts (not bots) mute/block your account compared to those who like your posts, your reach will decline significantly.” On January 3, he announced another “algorithm tweak” would be coming to “promote more informational/entertaining content,” because “(t)oo much negativity is being pushed that technically grows user time, but not unregretted user time.” (Two days later, he clarified that the latter change has not yet been implemented.)

Both measures were justified in the name of “maximiz(ing) unregretted user-seconds,” prompting concerns about Musk’s or his staff’s personal notions of “regret” and “negativity” being imposed on users, effectively trading the old Twitter’s dominant values for another set of values rather than making it a truly open and unfettered marketplace of ideas. 

Also concerning was the prospect of effectively punishing users for being blocked or muted by a large account. How “credibility” is to be determined went unexplained, and users can block or mute one another for any number of reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the target’s content, unwillingness or inability to answer a criticism or argument, personal dislike of another user, simple disinterest in certain content, etc. Critics also noted that by revealing that blocks and mutes can actually harm the traffic of smaller accounts, Musk made them even more tempting for malicious actors to use.

Musk’s comments followed several days of bitter public conflict between Musk and fellow DOGE chief Vivek Ramaswamy and many in Trump’s MAGA coalition after the two men spoke aggressively in favor of the H-1B visa program for importing temporary non-citizen workers in specialty fields. In 2016, Trump spoke aggressively against the program’s displacement of American workers, as part of the hardline immigration stance that originally unified MAGA. 

Trump has since softened his position and now aligns with Musk, but many still reacted viscerally to people so close to Trump vocally dissenting from the 2016 MAGA position, prompting speculation that the latest changes to X were motivated in part by the backlash Musk received.

As for what the new policies will mean in practice, some have asked X’s own AI chatbot Grok to analyze various accounts for content that might be seen as “negative,” and turned up some troubling answers, including “Posts that harshly criticize or make personal attacks on public figures”; “Criticism of H1B Visa Program”; “promoting distrust in media or platforms like X”; and even “Religious Commentary” that “alienates non-believers in a potentially divisive manner”:

Given Musk’s closeness to Trump, the turn of events also raises concerns as to how the former might advise the latter on matters pertaining to anti-censorship policies. Trump has tapped Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr and attorney and policy adviser Gail Slater for leading roles in the area, and Musk’s unofficial position on the Trump team is focused on cutting federal waste, but given his work with X, it stands to reason Trump would consult with him on social media policy as well.


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