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☆ Federal judge tosses Elon Musk’s case against hate speech watchdog CCDH
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X that had targeted a watchdog group for its critical reports about hate speech on the social media platform. In a blistering 52-page order, the judge blasted X’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights. X has blamed CCDH’s reports, which showcase the prevalence of hate speech on the platform, for amplifying brand safety concerns and driving advertisers away from the site. In the suit, X claimed that it had suffered tens of millions of dollars in damages from CCDH’s publications. “If CCDH’s publications were defamatory, that would be one thing, but X Corp. has carefully avoided saying that they are,” Breyer wrote.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, ”, Charles Breyer, ” Breyer, X, CCDH’s, Musk, Alex Jones, Breyer, “, CCDH, X’s, Imran Ahmed, @CCDHate, @ElonMusk’s @X, ” Ahmed, Ahmed, “ X Organizations: CNN, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Twitter, X Corp, Center Locations: Northern District, Northern District of California, Newtown , Connecticut, California, San Francisco

☆ Federal judge mocks Elon Musk’s X lawsuit targeting hate speech researchers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X targeting hate speech researchers appeared to stumble on Thursday as a federal judge sounded a skeptical note on many of the lawsuit’s allegations, suggesting that the company formerly known as Twitter hasn’t done enough to establish its claims. The judge in the case signaled he may toss out X’s claims but appeared undecided on whether to let the company amend and refile the suit. X has also blamed CCDH’s reports, which showcase the prevalence of hate speech on the platform, for amplifying brand safety concerns and driving advertisers away from the site. “You could have brought a defamation case; you didn’t bring a defamation case,” Breyer told X attorney Jonathan Hawk. Elon Musk, owner of X, attends the Viva Technology conference at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, X, CCDH, CCDH’s, Charles Breyer, ” Breyer, Jonathan Hawk, Elon Musk, Porte, Gonzalo Fuentes, Breyer, Hawk, “, ” Hawk, I’ve, John Quinn Organizations: CNN, Center, Twitter, Nazi, Viva Technology, Porte de, CCDH Locations: San Francisco federal, Paris, France

☆ Wellness influencers fueled pandemic misinformation. Now they have another big conspiracy in their sights
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

As interest in the pandemic waned, experts say some wellness influencers have latched on to climate change to galvanize followers. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesCécile Simmons, a trained yoga teacher, was surprised when many of the wellness accounts she followed started posting about climate change. Some wellness influencers are exposing young audiences to a slew of climate misinformation. Climate misinformation is having “a profound impact” both on people’s beliefs and on the normalization of fringe perspectives, Caulfield said. It’s particularly worrying as it allows climate misinformation to reach new audiences, experts say, including young people that might otherwise be supportive of climate change action.

Persons: Instagram, influencer @truth_crunchy_mama, “, ” They’re, influencer @drmercola, Patrick T, Fallon, Cécile Simmons, ”, Simmons, Joseph Mercola, it’s, Stephanie Alice Baker, Halbert L, Dunn, Baker, Derek Beres, Marc, André Argentino, ” Beres, Callum Hood, Hood, they’re, Tim Caulfield, Spencer Platt, ” CCDH’s Hood, Caulfield, Mariah Wellman, ” Wellman, ” Caulfield, —, It’s, ” Simmons Organizations: CNN, Getty, Institute for Strategic, Global Wellness Institute, City University, Wellness, Center, University of Alberta, University of Illinois, Meta Locations: Hawaii, Lahaina , Hawaii, AFP, globalists, Chicago

☆ Climate deniers are turning to new tactics, spreading a wave of misinformation on YouTube, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Researchers gathered transcripts from more than 12,000 videos posted between 2018 and 2023 across 96 YouTube channels that have promoted climate denial and misinformation. “The climate movement has won the argument that climate change is real, and that it is hurting our planet’s ecosystems,” he told CNN. As the impacts of the climate crisis — from scorching heat waves to fierce storms — affect a broader swath of the global population, narratives that deny the existence of climate change are becoming less effective. “There aren’t many companies that would be happy about seeing their advertising appear next to clear climate denial content,” Ahmed said. “We’re asking other platforms that claim to be green in one breath not to profit from, to revenue share, and therefore, reward or to amplify clear climate denial content that contradicts scientific consensus,” Ahmed added.

Persons: you’ve, Imran Ahmed, CCDH, it’s, ”, ” Ahmed, Charlie Cray, Michael Mann, ” Mann, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, YouTube, Pew Research Center, Greenpeace, University of Pennsylvania, Google

☆ Opinion: Elon Musk’s Israel tour was transparently transactional and insulting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Opinion Jill Filipovic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Elon Musk is trying to make amends, or at least do damage control, after endorsing an antisemitic post on his platform X, formerly Twitter. The backlash to Musk’s comments on X was swift: Advertisers pulled their campaigns from X, and Musk came under international criticism. Musk’s Israel tour was transparently transactional and frankly insulting. A chat with Musk and a personal tour of Hamas’ devastation seems like it could have waited. Earlier this year, the ADL published a report documenting an increase in antisemitic content on X under Musk’s ownership.

Persons: Jill Filipovic, CNN — Elon Musk, isn’t, “, ‘ Hitler, ”, I’m, Musk, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, X, ” X, White, Jonathan Greenblatt, Greenblatt, ” Musk, George Soros, Soros, Dilbert, Scott Adams, tweeting Organizations: Twitter, CNN, Musk, Defamation League, Israeli, Hamas, Islamic State, Center, Media, ADL Locations: New York, Israel, Buffalo, Gaza, Europe, Hungarian

☆ Online hate watchdog moves to dismiss lawsuit from Elon Musk’s X
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Nonprofit online watchdog the Center for Countering Digital Hate on Thursday hit back at Elon Musk’s X in a motion to dismiss the social media company’s August lawsuit. CCDH claims that X’s lawsuit is “riddled with legal deficiencies” and attempts to punish the nonprofit for its First Amendment protected speech, according to its Thursday filing in the Northern District Court of California. X and a lawyer representing the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on CCDH’s Thursday filing. In its complaint against CCDH, X alleges it has lost “at least tens of millions of dollars” in advertising revenue. “Instead, X Corp. has ginned up baseless claims purporting to take issue with how the CCDH Defendants gathered data that formed the basis for their research.”

Persons: CCDH, Musk, —, “, ” Musk, X, ”, Imran Ahmed, ” “, ” Ahmed, Elon, California’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Nonprofit, Elon Musk’s, X Corp, Twitter, Court, “, Defamation League, Whites, CNN Locations: New York, Northern, California, Israel

☆ Elon Musk threatens to sue the ADL for lost X ad sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —X owner Elon Musk is threatening to sue the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, claiming that the nonprofit organization’s statements about rising hate speech on the social media platform have torpedoed X’s advertising revenue. But the organization noted it recently met with X leadership, including CEO Linda Yaccarino, who Musk hired to help revive ad revenue. A #BanTheADL campaign has spread on X, and the ADL accused Musk of “lifting” the campaign. The ADL and other similar organizations, including the Center for Countering Digital Hate, have found that the volume of hate speech on the website has grown dramatically under Musk’s stewardship. Still, two brands last month paused their ad spending on X after their advertisements ran alongside an account promoting Nazism.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Yaccarino, Jonathan Greenblatt, ”, ” Musk, X, CCDH, Imran Ahmed, ” Ahmed Organizations: New, New York CNN, Defamation League, Twitter, @ADL, ADL, Anti, Defamation, X, Center, CNN Locations: New York

☆ Twitter sues watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington, DC CNN —Twitter has sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit group that has criticized the company’s handling of hate speech, following through on a litigation threat that had been publicly revealed just hours before. The lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco federal court accuses CCDH of deliberately trying to drive advertisers away from Twitter — recently rebranded as “X” — by publishing reports critical of the platform’s response to hateful content. It specifically claims CCDH violated Twitter’s terms of service, and federal hacking laws, by scraping data from the company’s platform and by encouraging an unnamed individual to improperly collect information about Twitter that it had provided to a third-party brand monitoring provider. The complaint accuses CCDH of engaging in a wide-ranging campaign to silence users of Twitter’s platform by calling attention to the views they post on social media. But Monday’s complaint does not appear to include such an allegation.

Persons: CCDH, Ahmed, ”, Elon Musk, ” Ahmed, Musk, ‘ I’m, Imran Ahmed, Twitter, “ Organizations: DC CNN, Twitter, Center, CNN Locations: Washington, San Francisco

☆ Twitter threatens to sue hate-speech watchdog group
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In a July 20 letter shared publicly Monday, Twitter threatened to sue the Center for Countering Digital Hate, accusing the group of a campaign to hurt Twitter by driving away its advertisers. The CCDH has published numerous reports about various social media companies’ approach to everything from vaccine misinformation to online racism and antisemitism. Since taking over Twitter, Musk has slashed roughly 80% of the company’s staff, including many working on the platform’s content moderation teams. Threatening lawsuits has become a favored tactic for Musk as Twitter faces continued pressure. Earlier this month, Twitter threatened to sue Facebook-parent Meta over the launch of its competing app, Threads, accusing the company of copying Twitter’s product through trade secret theft.

Persons: DC CNN — Elon Musk, “, Twitter, Alex Spiro, Musk, CCDH, Spiro, ” Spiro, Imran Ahmed, ”, Spiro didn’t, — Organizations: DC CNN, Twitter, Safety, Defamation League, Tufts University, University of Southern, Facebook, Microsoft Locations: Washington, University of Southern California, Redmond, Wash

☆ TikTok may push potentially harmful content to teens within minutes, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —TikTok may surface potentially harmful content related to suicide and eating disorders to teenagers within minutes of them creating an account, a new study suggests, likely adding to growing scrutiny of the app’s impact on its youngest users. The CCDH said the app recommended videos about body image and mental health about every 39 seconds within a 30-minute period. TikTok said it continues to roll out new safeguards for its users, including ways to filter out mature or “potentially problematic” videos. TikTok said it does not allow content depicting, promoting, normalizing, or glorifying activities that could lead to suicide or self-harm. Still, the CCDH says more needs to be done to restrict specific content on TikTok and bolster protections for young users.

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