Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday published its first transparency report since billionaire Elon Musk purchased it in 2022. The report highlights a significant increase in content moderation, showing that X suspended nearly 5.3 million accounts in the first half of 2024, a huge jump from the 1.6 million accounts it reported suspending in 2022.
The platform also "removed or labeled" more than 10.6 million posts for not following rules. Just over half of those were flagged for violating X’s "hateful conduct" policy, the company said. Other transgressions included 2.2 million posts with "violent content" and 2.6 million involving abuse or harassment. The company did not, however, specify how many posts were removed versus labeled.
In a blog post from April 2023, which the company published instead of a transparency report, X noted it had required users to remove some 6.5 million pieces of content in the first half of 2022, a 29% hike from the latter half of 2021.
The increased moderation actions come as Musk faces criticism over his leadership, with some blaming him for turning the platform more toxic. For his part, Musk has seemed to court controversy by posting conspiracy theories and clashing with politicians and world leaders. X was banned in Brazil after a dispute with a Brazilian Supreme Court judge over free speech and misinformation.
X said it uses a combination of machine learning and human moderators to enforce its content rules. The company said despite the increase in moderation actions, posts accused of violating rules make up less than 1% of all content.