Researchers have revealed that Elon Musk's X has deactivated an option which allowed people to inform of any false information related to elections.
Reset.Tech Australia declared the feature had been taken out over the last few weeks, except in the EU.
Concern has been caused by the decision in the lead-up to a significant referendum in Australia that could grant Indigenous people greater rights and the 2024 US presidential elections.
Authorities in Australia have declared that the amount of electoral misinformation is greater than ever before.
Since 2021, this tool has been accessible in the US, Australia, and South Korea and was further distributed to Brazil, the Philippines, and Spain in the preceding year.
Users were given the option to select "Report Content", followed by "It's misleading" and then "Politics".
Reset.Tech Australia wrote a letter expressing extreme worry about the cancelling of a feature, particularly as Australia is going to hold a referendum in the upcoming month.
The organization indicated that there currently appears to be no method for notifying your platform of any electoral misinformation that is uncovered.
Individuals can still inform us of posts that they deem to be hateful, abusive, or of a spammatic nature.
Australia is to hold its first referendum in approximately 25 years on the fourteenth of October.
The transfer might additionally have an impact on the capacity of voters to communicate false information prior to the 2024 US presidential elections.
Reset.Tech Australia indicated that the feature, initially only accessible in Spain within the European Union, is currently offered in all EU nations, though in a somewhat different setup.
Users in the European Union are now able to register a complaint about posts that may have a detrimental effect on uprisings or elections.
This feature has never been accessible to users in the UK.
The European Commission's recent research indicates that X has the highest percentage of false information amongst the six largest social networks.
A survey of more than 6,000 distinct social media posts on multiple platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and YouTube) was conducted.
The study indicated that X had the greatest proportions of discoverability of false information - suggesting the strongest likelihood of a user stumbling across misinforming content. YouTube was indicated to have the least, according to the research.
Vera Jourova, the EU's Values and Transparency Commissioner, made a stern warning following a study: "I'm sending a strong message to [X] that they must obey the law. We'll be keeping track of their activity."
Tech giants operating within the European Union are obligated to adhere to the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to secure the rights of users and to impede any meddling in elections.
Since Mr Musk assumed control of X, formerly known as Twitter, in late 2022, there have been accusations that the company has enabled an increase in hate speech and false information. Mr Musk refrained from accepting this charge when addressing the BBC.
He has contended that the "Community Notes" feature on the platform, allowing users to make remarks on posts to indicate false or deceptive material, is a more effective method of fact verification.
The BBC has sought a statement from X.
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