Elon Musk vows to ‘fix’ X feature over Ukraine and Zelensky

WASHINGTON - Mr Elon Musk said on Feb 20 that a feature on his social media platform X which allows users to fact-check potentially misleading posts was being “gamed” over Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky and vowed to “fix” it.

Mr Musk spoke after his ally US President Donald Trump turned on his one-time ally Mr Zelensky in recent days,

accusing the Ukrainian leader of being a “dictator”

and having started Ukraine’s war with Russia – narratives long pushed by Moscow.

The about-face has seen social media users – including stunned European officials and journalists – take to X in particular to defend Ukraine and Mr Zelensky.

Many have used the “Community Notes” feature, which allows users to attach content to posts that could contain misinformation to debunk them.

“Unfortunately, @CommunityNotes is increasingly being gamed by governments and legacy media. Working to fix this,” Mr Musk wrote on X on Feb 20.

“It should be utterly obvious that a Zelensky-controlled poll about his OWN approval is not credible!!” he continued, adding: “In reality, he is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election.”

Russia invaded Ukraine

in 2022.

Mr Zelensky’s five-year term expired in 2024, but Ukrainian law does not require elections during wartime.

According to a survey carried out in February by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Mr Zelensky has a 57 per cent approval rating and is “maintaining his legitimacy”.

Disinformation has long been rife on social media, which remains a leading source of news in the United States, where traditional journalism outlets such as newspapers are shuttering at a rapid rate.

Mr Musk rolled out Community Notes after he purchased the social media platform formerly known as Twitter in 2022 and overhauled many of its safety and moderation features.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said in January that it would start to imitate Community Notes rather than using professional fact-checkers.

A handful of moderate Republicans have also blasted Mr Trump’s shift over Ukraine.

“Putin started this war. Putin committed war crimes. Putin is the dictator who murdered his opponents. The EU nations have contributed more to Ukraine. Zelensky polls over 50 per cent. Ukraine wants to be part of the West, Putin hates the West,” congressman Don Bacon, from Nebraska, wrote on X on Feb 19.

“I don’t accept George Orwell’s doublethink,” he added, referring to the author of the dystopian novel 1984. AFP