Author
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AllSides/ X
X (formerly Twitter) has a relatively new feature that generates headlines and summaries on “trending” stories. But the feature itself is making headlines over its issues with sharing misinformation.
Russian Casulaties in Ukraine vs WW2
On Mar. 20, an X Explore headline said, "Russia's Military Losses in Ukraine Surpass WW2 Figures." This is far from accurate.
The report in question said Russia had about 900,000 military casualties in fighting with Ukraine since 2022. Roughly 8.7 million Russian soldiers died in World War II.
Biden Didn't Endorse Trump
On Sept. 11, 2024, after videos of President Joe Biden briefly donning a "Trump 2024" hat went viral online, X's "Explore" section said Biden had endorsed Trump.
The video shows Biden in a seemingly friendly exchange with a man wearing the Trump hat, before briefly taking it and putting it on as the crowd applauds. Biden's camp said he donned the hat to promote "unity" on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. There's no evidence Biden formally endorsed Trump.
NEW: Full exchange of the incident leading up to Joe Biden putting on a Trump 2024 hat.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 12, 2024
Biden: "Sure, I'll autograph [a hat]."
Man: "You remember your name?"
Biden: "I don't remember my name... I'm slow."
Man: "You're an old fart."
Biden: "Yeah, I'm an old guy... You would… pic.twitter.com/yQcCXmtzIZ
Lowe's CEO Didn't Tell Conservatives to Shop at Home Depot
On August 26, X's Explore section featured a false headline saying "Lowe's CEO urges conservatives to shop at Home Depot."
This is false, and was based on a doctored screenshot from a television broadcast.
The quote in question, attributed to Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison, read:
— AllSides (@AllSidesNow) August 26, 2024
"If conservatives do not like our values, they should take their money to Home Depot."
The company said this is false. The screenshot was fabricated.https://t.co/z9JCFQoPdG
Jimmy Carter Isn’t Dead
A fake announcement about Jimmy Carter’s death spread over social media on July 23, led in part by a false “Stories For You” headline from X. The announcement was entirely fabricated – Jimmy Carter is still alive – but you wouldn’t know that if you only read X’s trending headlines at the time.
The headline updated after roughly an hour, with no note that it’d previously been false.
Biden Didn’t “Kiss a Woman” He Thought Was His Wife
On July 18, a video of Biden talking to a woman before being interrupted by his wife Jill sparked claims that he mistook the woman for his spouse and tried to kiss her.
This was a subjective (and highly questionable) interpretation of the video, but pundits ran with the claim on X. The platform itself went a step further, saying at one point in a For You headline that Biden kissed the woman, which the video doesn’t show.
State of X:
— Ryan Mac (@RMac18) July 18, 2024
An X user, who was suspended for sharing child exploitation material before being reinstated by Musk, shared a misleading vid of Biden "about to kiss another woman."
X's AI then took the post and put it under trending topic: "Biden Mistakenly Kisses Another Woman" pic.twitter.com/Ju9otuVhDA
Community notes have since been affixed to some of the posts saying the “video does not support the claims” being made.
Biden’s Alleged Vegas Health Emergency
After Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, unconfirmed reports circulated that he was terminally ill and suffered a medical emergency days before exiting the race.
Despite this being unconfirmed and based on anonymous sources, X’s For You headline reported it as fact. The summary did mention the reports were “unconfirmed,” but this wasn’t reflected in the headline.
Why Use X?
News can often break on social media before mainstream news outlets, which typically hold themselves to a higher bar for sourcing than social media users do. For example, videos of the Trump rally shooting were shared across X before news outlets had reported on the assassination attempt. Similarly, President Joe Biden posted his letter announcing he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race to X before it was reported elsewhere.
However, as with all social media, news spreads faster than it can be fact-checked. While fact-checkers and legacy media outlets have their own biases to be aware of, they often have basic verification processes in place in an effort to prevent spreading misinformation.
Social media not only lacks these measures before a post goes up, but the algorithms used to boost content often favor emotional, shocking, and attention-grabbing stories — which massively overlaps with false and misleading content.
For example, a 2017 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that fake news spreads six times faster than true news on X.
What are X (Twitter) Headlines?
- AI-generated news summaries, known as “Stories,” created by X’s Grok AI
- Found under the Explore tab’s “For You” section and available to users under a paid plan
- Includes disclaimer, “This story is a summary of posts on X and may evolve over time. Grok can make mistakes, verify its outputs.”
- Provides users with breaking news and commentary on a multitude of topics without having to rely on other social media platforms and media companies for information
- Also curates conversations between multiple users, for example:
Conclusion
If you frequently consume alternative media from pundits, podcasts, and X, reading from mainstream legacy news outlets can help you understand what is verified information so you aren’t fooled. Meanwhile, if you only read from mainstream legacy outlets, reading from alternative sources and independent journalists can help you see angles that mainstream media may be missing.
Be wary of X’s new “For You” feature and its apparent propensity to spread misinformation.
Written by Multimedia Intern Caitlyn Scott (Right bias) and Bridging & Bias Specialist Clare Ashcraft (Center bias).
Reviewed by Editor-in-Chief Henry A. Brechter (Center), Content Intern Kacie Moschella (Lean Left) and Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings Julie Mastrine (Lean Right).