White House Continues to Monitor Twitter for Spread of Misinformation

The White House monitors social media platform Twitter. (photo: Twitter @PressSec)

JAKARTA –The White House said on Monday November 28 that it was monitoring social media platform Twitter, now under the control of new Chief Executive Elon Musk, for the spread of misinformation.

"This is something we're definitely watching," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about Twitter being a vector for misinformation.

Jean-Pierre said it was the responsibility of social media platforms to "make sure that when there is misinformation, when there is hatred that we can see, that they have to take action, that they continue to take action."

Reuters reported that Musk, who has reactivated a number of Twitter accounts that had previously been suspended, said over the weekend that new user registrations were at an “all-time” high. But there has also been a mass exodus of advertisers over concerns about verification and hate speech that Musk has blamed on activist groups that pressure the company.

"We are all watching this," Jean-Pierre told reporters at the White House. "Social media companies have a responsibility to prevent their platforms from being used by any user to incite violence, especially violence directed at individual communities."