MPs are to summon Elon Musk to testify about X’s role in spreading disinformation, in a parliamentary inquiry into the UK riots and the rise of false and harmful AI content, the Guardian has learned.
Senior executives from Meta, which runs Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok are also expected to be called for questioning as part of a Commons science and technology select committee social media inquiry.
He consistently shared lies and hatred that resulted in fear and abuse.
Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months after admitting contempt of court by repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee.
The hearing on Monday was the culmination of events that date back to October 2018.
That month, a video went viral showing how Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian in West Yorkshire, had been attacked by another teenager at school.
Yaxley-Lennon then posted his own response to one million Facebook followers alleging that his investigation had established that Mr Hijazi was a violent thug, a claim that was untrue.
The Yaxley-Lennon video spread widely and the Syrian teenager and his family received death threats.
The BBC receives more abusive messages about Marianna Spring than anyone else. But the disinformation correspondent remains hopeful about people – and the world we live in
How did one single social media post, taken down within hours for being false, still end up being viewed millions of times and presented as credible evidence about the Southport attack?
This demonstrates how important it is to teach adults basic digital literacy skills.
A deluge of misinformation online about back-to-back hurricanes in the US has been fuelled by a social media universe that rewards engagement over truth.
"Vote Reform UK", "Only Reform UK has a real plan for Britain" - an account on X has posted these and similar messages every couple of hours since the start of the election campaign.
The account, GenZBloomer, is one of dozens across X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok which the BBC has identified as posting hundreds of repeated messages in comment threads expressing support for Reform UK.
Comments
make a comment