Abdelrahman
Elon Musk has vowed to improve X’s fact-checking mechanism after polls emerged that challenge former U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s unpopularity in Ukraine.
In alignment with Trump’s recent criticisms of Zelenskyy, Musk expressed concerns that the platform’s “community notes” feature was being manipulated by governmental entities and mainstream media outlets.
While promoting a controversial right-wing account on X, Musk questioned the reliability of a prominent Ukrainian polling organization, suggesting that its collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is facing budget cuts under Musk’s management, undermined its credibility.
Musk posted, “If Zelensky genuinely had the support of the Ukrainian populace, he would call for elections. He knows he’d face a significant defeat, given that he controls all Ukrainian media, leading to his decision to cancel the elections.” This followed an unverified claim indicating that U.S. intelligence agencies purportedly estimate Zelenskyy’s approval rating at a mere 4 percent.
He added, “In truth, he is loathed by many in Ukraine, which explains his refusal to proceed with elections,” referencing Zelenskyy’s suspension of electoral processes after declaring martial law following Russia’s invasion in 2022. Musk further challenged Zelenskyy to hold an election to disprove these assertions, asserting that he would not participate.
As a prominent ally of Trump and head of the program for Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk did not provide evidence to support his allegations of manipulation within X’s community notes system, designed to provide context to contentious posts based on user consensus.
Later the same day, Musk appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he brandished a chainsaw in tribute to Argentina’s austerity-focused president, Javier Milei. He also failed to substantiate his claim that broadly recognized polling from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology was “controlled by Zelensky” and therefore “not credible.”
Lucas Graves, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies misinformation, expressed concern over Musk’s remarks. He stated, “This type of rhetoric is troubling because it illustrates the possible manipulation of platforms like X to serve the political motives of their owners.”
Graves elaborated, “A well-structured community notes system can effectively counter misinformation, but that relies on transparent guidelines that empower users to highlight credible information, rather than subjective adjustments by a single individual.”
John Wihbey, an associate professor specializing in media innovation at Northeastern University in Canada, remarked that it is inevitable in crowdsourced fact-checking that the outcomes may not always please the platform’s leadership. “This is part of the trade-off when implementing such measures. Community notes can be effective but should not serve as the sole method for verification, as it risks over-reliance by the platform,” he noted.
Musk’s criticisms of Zelenskyy coincide with ongoing verbal disputes between the Ukrainian leader and the Trump administration regarding Washington’s attempts to negotiate peace with Russia.
Recently, Trump labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator,” after the Ukrainian president denied allegations placing blame for the conflict on Kyiv and raised unease about being sidelined in negotiations involving Moscow.
Trump reiterated that Zelenskyy’s approval ratings were “very low,” aligning with his previous claim of a 4 percent approval rating. However, a recent opinion poll from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology indicated that 57 percent of Ukrainians expressed trust in Zelenskyy, a rise from the previous December.
Nonetheless, according to the institute, Zelenskyy’s popularity has been declining since the invasion began, decreasing from 90 percent in March 2022 to 64 percent a year later.
Since Musk acquired X, previously known as Twitter, in 2022, he has faced significant backlash for enabling and sometimes promoting misinformation on the platform.
An analysis from the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate revealed that nearly 75 percent of misleading posts related to the 2024 U.S. elections lacked proper corrective notes.
Gordon Pennycook, a psychology professor at Cornell University who investigates misinformation, commented, “There’s a significant likelihood that X/Twitter risks becoming a propaganda tool for Musk and Trump, and in many respects, it’s already occurring. I believe Musk’s desire to amend community notes stems from a resistance to being corrected, a common trait among authoritarian figures.”
