Grok, an AI chatbot on X (formerly Twitter), has been accused of spreading false information about Vice President Kamala Harris’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential ballot. An open letter from five US secretaries of state, led by Minnesota’s Steve Simon, calls for Elon Musk, CEO of X, to address this issue urgently. The letter claims Grok misled users by suggesting ballot deadlines had passed in several states despite them being valid.
The misinformation, disseminated widely before being corrected, has raised concerns about the accuracy of information on X. Although Grok includes a disclaimer urging users to verify facts, the incorrect claims were heavily circulated before being addressed.
The controversy highlights ongoing issues with X’s moderation policies. Under Musk, X has significantly reduced its moderation staff, which has affected its ability to manage misinformation effectively. Additionally, Musk has faced criticism for resharing misleading content and making provocative statements on social media.
The incident underscores X’s challenges in maintaining accurate information and the broader implications for online political discourse.
An investigation by Global Witness revealed that bot-like accounts on the social media platform X have been spreading misinformation and hate ahead of Britain’s election and are now targeting US politics. These accounts, active since late May, generated over four billion impressions and have since shifted focus to significant events related to the presidential election in November.
The watchdog’s report highlighted how these accounts promoted conspiracy theories around the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and false claims about President Joe Biden withdrawing from the race. Despite Elon Musk’s pledges to reduce digital manipulation after purchasing the platform in 2022 for $44 billion, bot activity remains prevalent.
Accounts analysed by Global Witness also spread climate disinformation and participated in anti-migrant protests in Ireland. Ava Lee from Global Witness expressed concern about the ease with which these bots spread division and urged the platform to enhance its moderation efforts to protect democratic processes.
The platform, previously known as Twitter, did not respond to requests for comment. An automated reply from the press team indicated they were busy. Global Witness found no evidence linking British political parties to the bot-like accounts. Meanwhile, Elon Musk faced criticism for sharing a deepfake video of Kamala Harris, further raising concerns about the platform’s role in disseminating disinformation.
After facing criticism for its portrayal of AI, Google has withdrawn its controversial ad from the Olympics. The ad featured a father using Google’s Gemini AI chatbot to help his daughter write a fan letter to Olympic athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, which many viewers felt undermined the child’s creativity by replacing it with AI-generated text.
Initially, Google defended the ad, asserting that it demonstrated how Gemini could provide a helpful starting point for writing. However, following widespread feedback, the company decided to pull the ad from its rotation. That move highlights ongoing concerns about AI potentially displacing creative jobs, similar to the backlash faced by Apple earlier this year for a similar ad.
The ad’s removal marks a notable misstep for Google, which aims to position Gemini as a key competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and integrate AI across its products. The incident also underscores broader fears about AI’s impact on creative professions.
ByteDance’s TikTok has agreed to permanently withdraw its TikTok Lite rewards program from the EU to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to the European Commission. The TikTok Lite rewards program allowed users to earn points by engaging in activities like watching videos and inviting friends.
In April, the EU demanded a risk assessment from TikTok on the app shortly after its launch in France and Spain, citing concerns about its potential impact on children and users’ mental health. Under the DSA, large online platforms must report potential risks of new features to the EU before launching and adopting measures to address these risks.
The available brain time of young Europeans is not a currency for social media—and it never will be ⏳🧠
We have obtained the permanent withdrawal of #TikTokLite “rewards”program, which could have had very addictive consequences.
TikTok has made legally binding commitments to withdraw the rewards program from the EU and not to launch any similar program that would bypass this decision. Breaching these commitments would violate the DSA and could lead to fines. Additionally, an investigation into whether TikTok breached online content rules aimed at protecting children and ensuring transparent advertising is ongoing, putting the platform at risk of further penalties.
Arbitrariness and political censorship are prevalent in the YouTube administration controlled by Washington, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. She claims that YouTube systematically censors information, beginning with the blocking of accounts from Russian media outlets and government agencies. The official channel of the Russian Foreign Ministry has received unfounded warnings, with some videos being blocked.
Zakharova emphasises that YouTube’s actions constitute direct censorship, violating the rights of subscribers by restricting the free distribution and access to information. She asserts that the United States, which oversees YouTube, has international obligations to uphold freedom of speech, and the actions taken by YouTube contradict these obligations.
Additionally, Alexander Khinshtein, head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, mentioned a potential 70% reduction in YouTube download speeds on computers, which would not affect mobile communications. Roskomnadzor later cited disrespect for Russia and numerous legal violations as reasons for actions against YouTube.
Turkey has blocked access to the social media platform Instagram, according to an announcement by the country’s infotech regulator. The reason or duration of the ban remains undisclosed, but it has also rendered the platform’s mobile app inaccessible.
The decision follows remarks by communications official in Turkey, Fahrettin Altun, who criticised Instagram for allegedly blocking condolence posts regarding the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a prominent figure in the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Altun labelled Instagram’s action as ‘censorship’ and pointed out that the platform had not provided any policy violation as justification.
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Instagram, has not yet responded to the ban or to Altun’s accusations. The Turkish Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) made the decision public on its website on 2 August.
Google is taking significant steps to address the problem of non-consensual sexually explicit fake content, often referred to as ‘deepfakes,’ that has been increasingly distributed online. Recognising the distress this can cause, Google has updated its policies and systems to help affected individuals more effectively. These updates include easier removal processes for such content from Search and improvements to Google’s ranking systems to prevent this harmful material from appearing prominently in search results.
People have long been able to request the removal of non-consensual explicit imagery from Google Search, but the new changes make this process more accessible. Once a request is successfully made, Google’s systems will also aim to filter out all explicit results related to similar searches. Additionally, if an image is removed under these policies, Google will scan for and remove any duplicates, providing greater peace of mind for those worried about future appearances of the same content.
In tandem with these removal process enhancements, Google is also refining its ranking systems to demote explicit fake content. That includes lowering the ranking of such content for searches that may inadvertently lead to it and promoting high-quality, non-explicit content instead. These changes have already shown promising results, with exposure to explicit image results on certain queries reduced by over 70%. By distinguishing between real and fake explicit content, Google aims to surface legitimate information better while minimising harmful content.
Google acknowledges that more work is needed to tackle this issue comprehensively. The company is committed to ongoing improvements and industry-wide partnerships to address the broader societal challenges of non-consensual explicit fake content. These efforts reflect Google’s dedication to protecting individuals and maintaining the integrity of its search results.
Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has fined Alphabet’s Google and TikTok for not complying with orders to remove banned content. The Tagansky district court in Moscow imposed a 5 million rouble ($58,038) fine on Google and a 4 million rouble fine on TikTok. These penalties were issued because both platforms failed to identify content similar to what was previously ordered to be removed.
This is part of a broader effort by Russia over the past several years to enforce the removal of content it considers illegal from foreign technology platforms. Although relatively small, the fines have been persistent, reflecting Russia’s ongoing scrutiny and regulation of online content.
Moscow has been particularly critical of Google, especially for taking down YouTube channels associated with Russian media and public figures. Neither Google nor TikTok immediately responded to requests for comment on the fines.
Malaysia is introducing a new regulation requiring social media services with over 8 million users nationwide to obtain a license starting 1 August. The new requirement aims to tackle rising cyber offences, including scams and cyberbullying, by ensuring compliance with Malaysian laws.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that platforms failing to apply for a license by 1 January 2025 will face legal action. The introduction of this new condition follows directives from the Communications Minister urging social media companies to address government concerns about harmful content.
YouTube speeds in Russia are expected to significantly decline on desktop computers due to Google’s failure to upgrade its equipment in the country and its refusal to unblock Russian media channels. The situation has drawn criticism from Alexander Khinshtein, head of the lower house of parliament’s information policy committee, who emphasised that the slowdown is a repercussion of YouTube’s actions. Khinshtein highlighted that download speeds on the platform have already decreased by 40% and could drop by up to 70% next week.
The decline in YouTube quality is attributed to Google’s inaction, particularly its failure to upgrade Google Global Cache servers in Russia. Additionally, Google has not invested in Russian infrastructure and allowed its local subsidiary to go bankrupt, preventing it from covering local data centre expenses. Communications regulator Roskomnadzor has echoed these concerns, indicating that the lack of upgrades has led to deteriorating service quality.
Google has faced multiple fines from Russia for not removing content deemed illegal or undesirable by the Russian government. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, YouTube blocked channels associated with Russian state-funded media worldwide, citing its policy against content that denies or trivialises well-documented violent events. Subsequently, Google’s Russian subsidiary filed for bankruptcy, citing Russian authorities’ seizure of its bank account as the reason for its inability to function. Meanwhile, some Russian officials, including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, have proposed blocking YouTube entirely in response to the ongoing tensions.
