A counter-terrorism organization in the tech industry is expressing concern over content posted by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Elon Musk's X, as reported by The Sunday Times. Members of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) feel that X's membership and position on the board undermine the group's credibility. The GIFCT includes major social media companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Alphabet's YouTube. X Corp and the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism have not yet responded to requests for comment.
The Sunday Times reported that within 10 minutes, CST researchers found propaganda videos from UK-proscribed terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on X. The GIFCT's independent advisory committee's 2023 annual report expressed concern over online trust and safety, which was reportedly directed at X. The advisory body has become increasingly worried about significant reductions in online trust and safety capabilities for certain platforms and a perceived decrease in the priority of the issue, negatively impacting companies' ability to moderate extremist content online.
The Sunday Times also reported that Musk has allowed previously banned extremists back onto X, permitted anyone to pay for a verification mark, and laid off a large portion of its content moderation team, as part of his strategy to transform X into a 'free speech' platform. The GIFCT was established in 2017 under pressure from U.S. and European governments. The Sunday Times noted that X, a founding member of the organization, is now failing to make its full financial contribution to the anti-terrorism efforts.
