Every social media app has its own secret sauce—the algorithm. For example, TikTok’s algo is so good at keeping users engaged in the endless scroll that it’s worth $200 billion on paper. The algorithm for X (née Twitter) has a different specialty: promoting far-right extremist content. And the European Union wants to know why that is. As part of an ongoing probe from the European Commission, X has been ordered to turn over internal documents showing how its recommendation algorithm works, according to the Financial Times.
The Elon Musk-owned platform will have until February 15 to disclose all information that it has regarding its content recommendation system, including details about any recent changes and documents detailing how the algorithm could be tweaked in the future. X will also have to hold onto all documents regarding its algorithm from January 17 through the end of the year, should the Commission want to pop open the hood and see how the company is changing things.
The order, which is an extension of a probe first opened in December 2023 to investigate the spread of “illegal content” including disinformation and hate speech on the platform, follows complaints from German lawmakers who believe Musk is actively and intentionally promoting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of the country’s February elections.
Musk has not exactly been subtle about his personal preferences (of course, he’s not exactly subtle about anything these days). After successfully throwing his weight around in the US Presidential election, he decided to place his finger on the scale in Germany to see just how far his influence stretches, tweeting out “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
The AfD is the German alt-right, the remaining cells of the Nazi cancer that once infected the country. And while it has long sat dormant and mostly powerless in the country, it managed to net the far-right its first win in a state election since 1945 late last year. Now it has Musk serving as its primary international booster. Earlier this month, he hosted an X Space with party leader Alice Weidel and allowed her to reframe her party and German history without pushback, including making the case that Adolph Hitler was a communist (which, no).
We’ll see if all of this pressure he’s placing on political norms nets him another political victory in Germany next month—but there’s evidence to suggest he’s misread the room. There has already been a considerable amount of pushback against Musk among NGOs and corporations, who have ditched X in response to his attempt to swing an election for the AfD. He’s also pissed off the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, the more traditional conservative party in the country, meaning he’s less likely to find allies should his Nazi gambit fail.
All that trouble will only get Musk one thing for sure: his company placed under the microscope. Assuming X complies with the EU’s request, it’ll get to pop the panel off Musk’s personal racism machine and see just how the gears turn—including just how much he’s boosting his own posts in an attempt to control the narrative on the platform.
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