Billionaire Elon Musk pitches X as both a haven for free speech and a superior alternative to the mainstream media for keeping up with news and politics. Under his ownership, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter has pulled back on policing misinformation, relying instead on the wisdom of the crowd to debunk falsehoods.
Musk’s critics say that approach benefits the political right, with which Musk increasingly identifies. . .
This week a pair of falsehoods that originated and gained traction on X mostly among left-leaning users provided a reminder that online misinformation can come from anywhere in the political spectrum — and tested Musk’s commitment to letting users decide the truth for themselves.