The letter follows research from the pro-censorship think tank the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). It paints the platform formerly known as Twitter as a “a home for hate” under its new owner, alleging that antisemitism is “reaching millions” there. “For too long, X has been a source of abuse and hate,” says Joani Reid, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on antisemitism, who led the letter. “We are calling on Ofcom to use every power available to it to take action and hold the platform to account for breaches of our online safety laws.”
It is true that the CCDH has been able to uncover some nasty and antisemitic posts on X (“Every time a Jew dies, the world becomes a better place” and “Don’t stop till… all Jews are gone off this blessed earth”). This would be somewhat more concerning, however, if such posts were attracting much engagement, either in likes and reposts or just plain impressions. But since Musk’s takeover, X’s enforcement philosophy has been “freedom of speech, not reach”, which errs on the side of stifling flagged content via the algorithm rather than removing it outright. Accordingly, the antisemitic posts collected by the CCDH typically have zero likes and scarcely any views – most commonly in the single figures. To try and suggest such posts have wide currency on X today is a major exaggeration. Indeed, if one is minded to trawl, say, Bluesky for similar sentiments one can find them.
It’s easy to see then that this research, and the attempt to use it to influence Ofcom, forms part of a wider censorship agenda against Musk’s free-speech platform. This is the same CCDH, after all, whose Chief Executive, Imran Ahmed, is set to have his US visa revoked by the State Department over concerns about his organisation’s attacks on X....<<<Read More>>>...