Elon Muskowner of X (formerly Twitter), has reported that the platform experienced “record usage” during the US presidential elections.
According to Musk, This unprecedented increase in activity is a reflection of X’s role as a space for public debate and source of information in real time, especially in moments of political relevance.
However, a recent study raises questions about whether this growth in use has occurred organically or if X’s algorithm could be intentionally amplifying certain content.
Record usage on X during US elections
As usual for Musk, the tycoon has taken to his social network to share news about the platform. According to the graph he has published on his account, X has experienced a considerable increase during the key hours of election day.
According to the chart, mobile usage in the US reached all-time highs, exceeding 6 billion seconds of interaction in a single day. Musk has celebrated this increase as an achievement and in a later post He has even stated that now we people are “the media”, thus signaling his philosophy that X has become an essential tool for access to information and debate.
This increase in activity coincides with widespread interest in the elections and with the announcement of donald trump as winner of the elections. Victory that Musk himself has celebrated by publishing on X a fictitious image of himself carrying a sink to the White House with the words: “Let that sink in”, in reference to the viral image that he uploaded to the social network after buying it.
A suspicious increase in Musk’s visibility on X
The record figure published by Musk underlines the platform influence on political discourse. Even more so when there are suspicions of manipulation such as those that are being heard from some experts.
A study by the Center to Counter Digital Hate (CCDH) collected by the international media Euronews suggests that Musk would have intervened in the social network’s algorithm to give more visibility to his publications and those of the former president, raising doubts about the neutrality of the platform.
The researchers noticed a significant increase in Musk’s account engagement since July 2024with an increase of 138% in views, 238% in ‘retweets’ and 186% in ‘likes’ in its publications, a growth that surpassed that of other prominent political accounts. This could indicate an algorithmic modification in X that favored the visibility of the businessman and gave him an advantage in the interaction.
Since endorsing former President Trump in July, The billionaire’s political posts have racked up 17.1 billion viewsaccording to the analysis. During the same period, paid political ads—which cost about $10.7 million—received 7.7 billion views.
For this reason, the CCDH and other critics suggest that Musk could be taking advantage of his control over X to promote a specific political agenda, one that the businessman does not hide: many of the publications supported the Republican candidate Trump or harmed the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Elon Musk and misinformation in X
According to Reuters, Musk has spread false claims about the US elections on November 5 in X, including debunked allegations involving undocumented immigrants who were allowed to vote.
The billionaire’s false or misleading claims about the US election have racked up nearly 2 billion views on social media platformaccording to a report by the nonprofit group CCDH.
“At least 87 of Musk’s posts this year have promoted claims about the US election that fact-checkers have called false or misleadingaccumulating 1.7 billion visits,” they explain.
The group also said that Musk’s posts generated twice as many views as all political ads on the platform combined during the election period, which is equivalent to spending approximately $24 million (22 million euros) in campaign ads.
A false claim Musk made about swing states and “importing voters” had 21 million views.
The relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump
Elon Musk and Donald Trump have had a complex and occasionally controversial relationship. Musk has praised some Trump policies, such as his initiatives on the economy and reducing regulations, but has also criticized others, especially on environmental and science issues. In 2022, after acquiring Twitter (now X), The magnate restored the former president’s account, suspended since the 2021 assault on the Capitolalthough he then rejected the offer to return.
But things have changed since then and During the 2024 election campaign, the relationship between Musk and Trump has been especially notablestanding out for the level of public and financial support that Musk has offered. Musk, who has been critical of figures on both sides of the political spectrum in the past, has this time shown open support for Trump, both through his super PAC —has donated $75 million to ‘Trump America PAC’— as in campaign events.
The businessman has even funded voter mobilization initiatives, as well as appearances at rallies and public events, where Musk encouraged attendees to vote for Trump.
In parallel, Musk has used the X platform to amplify his support for Trump and attract voters, positioning himself as a significant ally for the former president in his attempt to return to the White House.
Is X a neutral platform or a political weapon?
Since acquiring Twitter in 2022, Musk has made significant changes to the operation of the platformensuring that its objective is to protect freedom of expression and make X a space for open debate. However, the recent CCDH report suggests that its influence goes far beyond simple content moderation.
This pattern of activity questions the neutrality of X and calls into question its owner’s claim that “you are the media now.” Instead of an impartial space, Some critics believe that X has become a political tool serving the interests of Musk and his allies..
The possibility of a billionaire using a global platform to influence a presidential election raises serious questions about the role of social media in democracy. While Musk has on numerous occasions defended his vision of
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