William Freeman 2nd Vice Chair | DeKalb County Republican Party
William Freeman 2nd Vice Chair | DeKalb County Republican Party
Elon Musk, the owner and Chief Technology Officer of X, faces ongoing challenges in his effort to transform the social media platform into a space for free speech. A study by the Media Research Center (MRC) indicates that despite Musk's intentions, X's algorithm continues to favor left-leaning politicians over their conservative counterparts.
The MRC acknowledged Musk's efforts towards promoting free speech but noted that remnants of past censorship practices persist. The study involved tests using Grok, X’s AI search assistant, to assess how visibility scores are assigned to members of Congress. These scores determine which accounts are amplified or suppressed on the platform.
The tests revealed that visibility scores are influenced by four factors: Mass Appeal (38%), Reputation (30%), Toxicity (21%), and Follow (11%). While some factors may have objective elements, others like Reputation and Toxicity are subjective. This subjectivity has led to an apparent bias in favor of Democrats in Congress.
According to MRC findings, "X gave a distinct advantage to Democrats," with left-leaning members receiving higher visibility than moderates or conservatives. Senate Democrats had an average visibility score of 82.4 compared to 66.8 for Republicans, while House Democrats scored 67 against 58.6 for GOP members.
Among senators, the top 42 visibility scores were attributed to Democrats. Specific examples include Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters being ranked as "the least toxic" and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer receiving the highest overall visibility rating.
The MRC study did not attribute these outcomes directly to Musk but suggested internal resistance within X might be responsible for maintaining these biases.
Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022 aimed at exposing alleged collusion between government officials and social media platforms regarding censorship policies, particularly related to COVID-19 narratives. However, as highlighted by the MRC study, challenges remain in addressing perceived algorithmic biases on X.
This article was originally published by The Western Journal.
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