NewsGuard, a misinformation watchdog organization, has
reported that some X Premium subscribers may be benefiting from the platform’s
ads revenue sharing program while spreading misinformation about the Israel-Hamas
situation. The posts by these users, containing conspiratorial claims about the
Israel-Hamas situation, have collectively reached 92 million views.
NewsGuard had previously debunked these claims in its
Misinformation Fingerprints database of the most significant false and
misleading claims spreading online. The organization’s VP of communications,
Veena McCoole, confirmed that the 30 posts from NewsGuard’s report surpassed
some of the most appallingly misleading claims related to the ongoing war.
These findings are in opposition to X’s revenue share policy, according to which, payouts are not provided when an account engages in any activity that is believed to have violated the X User Agreement. In addition to that, Elon Musk himself had announced back in October that X would not provider revenue for posts that have corrections from Community Notes.
NewsGuard’s report further adds that 24 of the 30 posts had
“200 ads from 86 major brands, nonprofits, educational institutions, and
governments” below them. Additionally, 15 of the posts had Community Notes added
to them, which technically makes them ineligible for payouts, in accordance with Musk’s statement.
The content categorized as 'violations' in the X User Agreement includes “misleading media” that’s “deceptively altered, manipulated, or
fabricated” and any content that’s “shared in a deceptive manner or with false
context.”
