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  • Newsweek International

    Pay to Play

    Nov 03, 2023 6 minutes

    NEARLY THREE-FOURTHS OF THE MOST VIRAL posts on X advancing misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war are being pushed by “verified” X Premium accounts, a NewsGuard analysis has found.

    In March 2023, X owner Elon Musk overhauled the platform’s verification system, allowing users to pay a fee of $8 a month to become X Premium users. Premium accounts display a blue checkmark on their profile and have their posts prioritized by the algorithm used by X (previously known as Twitter). This means that they appear higher, with greater prominence, in users’ replies and search results. That decision turned out to be a boon for bad actors sharing misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war. For less than the cost of a movie ticket, they have gained the added credibility associated with the once-prestigious blue checkmark, enabling them to reach a larger audience.

    During the first week of the conflict (October 7 to October 14), NewsGuard analyzed the 250 most-engaged posts (likes, reposts, replies and bookmarks) promoting one of 10 prominent false or unsubstantiated narratives relating to the war, derived from News-Guard’s Misinformation

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