A report by NewsGuard, a misinformation watchdog organization, has revealed that some verified premium users with blue badges on X, who are also super-spreaders of misinformation regarding the Israel-Hamas war, are sharing Elon Musk's ad revenue.
These users, part of X's advertising revenue sharing program for creators, have generated a collective 92 million views for posts containing misinformation about the conflict.
During the period from November 13-22, NewsGuard analysts examined programmatic ads appearing in the feeds under 30 viral tweets containing false or egregiously misleading information about the war.
The tweets were posted by 10 users previously identified by NewsGuard as repeat spreaders of misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The report stated, "These 30 tweets have cumulatively reached an audience of over 92 million viewers, according to X data. On average, each tweet was seen by 3 million people."
Analysts identified 200 ads from 86 major brands, nonprofits, educational institutions, and governments that appeared below 24 of the 30 tweets with false claims.
After NewsGuard contacted X about the report, Elon Musk tweeted that X Corp would be donating all revenue from advertising and subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross/Crescent in Gaza.
However, the report notes that it is unclear what Musk meant by "revenue from advertising & subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza," and he did not comment on the users sharing in X's revenues for spreading misinformation.
(With Agency Inputs)
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