By Becky Usman

In the wake of the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) has removed “hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts” and deleted thousands of posts. This action comes after the European Union (EU) issued a 24-hour ultimatum to X earlier this week, demanding that it address illegal content and disinformation related to the conflict or face penalties under the recently enacted Digital Services Act.

X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, responded to EU official Thierry Breton with a letter posted on X on Wednesday. In her letter, she explained that the company had reallocated resources and refocused internal teams to work diligently in response to the rapidly evolving situation. Yaccarino emphasized that X does not tolerate terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups on its platform and continues to remove such accounts in real-time.

Yaccarino stated, “X is… addressing identified fake and manipulated content during this constantly evolving and shifting crisis.” The platform established a leadership group to assess the situation shortly after news of the attack emerged.

During the weekend, a considerable amount of mischaracterized videos and posts circulated on X, causing concern among experts monitoring the spread of misinformation. This incident highlighted the ongoing challenge faced by social media platforms in addressing falsehoods during significant geopolitical events.

Since the attack on Israel, Yaccarino reported that X has taken action to “remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content” that violate its policies regarding violent speech, manipulated media, and graphic content. X has also responded to over 80 “take down requests” from EU authorities to remove specific content.

Additionally, “Community Notes,” which enable X users to fact-check false posts, have been applied to “thousands of posts, generating millions of impressions,” according to Yaccarino. However, she revealed that it takes approximately five hours on average for notes related to the conflict to appear after a post is created. This delay raises concerns that fake or manipulated content may be seen by thousands or even millions of individuals before moderation occurs.

EU official Thierry Breton acknowledged receipt of Yaccarino’s letter on X and stated that the Digital Services Act enforcement team would analyze the response and decide on the next steps. This law represents a significant effort by policymakers to regulate tech giants, with companies facing the possibility of substantial fines for violating the Act.