X policies challenge social media researchers

Elon Musk’s actions at X, formerly known as Twitter, have had a significant impact on social media researchers, leading to the cancellation, suspension, or alteration of over 100 studies, according to nearly a dozen interviews and a survey of planned projects.

These researchers claim that Musk’s restrictions on data access have hindered their ability to analyse the origin and spread of false information during real-time events. One crucial tool that gave researchers access to data on 10 million tweets per month was terminated by Twitter in February following Musk’s takeover.

The survey conducted by the Coalition for Independent Technology Research revealed that a majority of respondents fear potential lawsuits from X over their findings or data usage. X’s decline in US ad revenue since Musk’s acquisition has also been reported, with at least a 55% decrease year-over-year each month. The survey showed that 30 projects were canceled, 47 were stalled, and 27 researchers changed platforms with limited data collection capabilities. The affected studies cover topics such as hate speech, child safety, and disinformation, which have attracted global regulatory scrutiny.

European Union regulators are investigating X’s handling of disinformation, which has further impacted independent research studies. The cost of accessing X’s API and the reduced data availability have led to limitations in conducting in-depth analyses. Researchers now face the challenge of manually analyzing posts.

Why does it matter?

X’s actions have created an obstacle for researchers in combating false information, hate speech, and disinformation. The cancellation of the API tool and fear of legal repercussions have curtailed their ability to address these issues effectively. Legal concerns also arose, as X sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate after it published critical reports about the platform’s content moderation.