The social media platform "X" (formerly Twitter) has threatened to sue a rights organization, citing that its research indicates an increase in hate speech on the platform since Elon Musk acquired it last year. A lawyer representing the social media site sent a letter to the Digital Hate Center on July 20, threatening legal action concerning the nonprofit organization's research on hate speech on the site.
According to the letter, the Digital Hate Center's research aims to "harm Twitter's business by driving advertisers away from the platform through publishing articles that make incendiary, defamatory, false, or misleading claims about Twitter with the intent to damage its reputation." The organization has offices in the United States and the UK and regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism, or harmful behavior on social media platforms such as "X," "TikTok," or "Facebook."
X's lawyer, Alex Spiro, questioned the researchers' expertise in his letter, accusing the center of attempting to damage the site's reputation, noting that the center has received funding from some of X's competitors. The center's founder and CEO, Omar Ahmed, stated that "his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite the history of studying the relationship between social media and hate speech and extremism." He indicated that those targeted by the center's criticisms usually respond by defending their work or promising to address any identified issues.
He pointed out that "this is an unprecedented escalation from a social media company against researchers," adding, "Musk has just declared an open war. If he succeeds in silencing us, other research centers will be next."
