Latest news with #pro-AfD
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Trouble mounts for Elon Musk: 'X' facing probe in France over algorithm tampering, 'foreign interference'
French police are investigating claims that Elon Musk-owned social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, skewed its algorithm to allow "foreign interference", the Paris prosecutor said Friday. Investigators will be examining actions of the company, and its senior managers, after two complaints were filed in January, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said, without specifically mentioning X owner Elon Musk . The two complaints made on January 12 reported "the supposed use of the X algorithm for purposes of foreign interference", her office said, without elaborating. Is 'X' A Threat To French Democracy? The first complaint was filed by a centrist member of parliament, Eric Bothorel, a member of President Emmanuel Macron's party, who has looked into cybersecurity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Explore Britain with a Kids Go Free offer this summer Stena Line guide Undo Bothorel warned against "recent changes to the X algorithm, as well as apparent interference in its management since Elon Musk acquired" the company in 2022. He highlighted a "reduction in the diversity of voices and options" that went against guaranteeing a secure, respectful environment on the social media platform. He pointed to "a lack of clarity in criteria that led to algorithm changes and moderation decisions", and to "personal interventions from Elon Musk in the management on his platform". All this presented a "real danger and a threat for our democracies", he said. Live Events Foreign Interference, Hateful Comment The prosecutor said Friday that the investigation had been opened after "verifications and contributions by French researchers" and further "elements contributed by different political institutions". According to Prosecutor Beccuau's statement, police are investigating alleged offences of organised data system manipulation. It said the alleged crimes are currently not formally categorised as aggravated by "foreign interference" under a 2024 law but that designation could change in the course of investigations. Laurent Buanec, France director of X, on January 22 said X had "strict, clear and public rules to protect the platform from hateful discourse" and fight disinformation. He said the algorithm was "built in a way to avoid offering you hateful content". Musk has angered European politicians by commenting about domestic politics, notably in Britain and Germany, where he has publicly supported the far-right AfD party. The European Union's former digital affairs commissioner, Thierry Breton of France, described some of his pro-AfD comments as "foreign interference". The commission opened a probe against X in December 2023 and accused it in July 2024 of breaching its digital services regulations. The network risks being ordered to pay a fine of billions of euros. FAQs Q1. Who is owner of Twitter? A1. Owner of Twitter is Elon Musk. Q2. What is EU? A2. The full form of EU is European Union.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
France probes X over claims algorithm enabled 'foreign interference'
French police are investigating claims that social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, skewed its algorithm to allow "foreign interference", the Paris prosecutor said Friday. Investigators will be examining actions of the company, and its senior managers, after two complaints were filed in January, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said, without specifically mentioning X owner Elon Musk. The two complaints made on January 12 reported "the supposed use of the X algorithm for purposes of foreign interference", her office said, without elaborating. The first complaint was filed by a centrist member of parliament, Eric Bothorel, a member of President Emmanuel Macron's party, who has looked into cybersecurity. Bothorel warned against "recent changes to the X algorithm, as well as apparent interference in its management since Elon Musk acquired" the company in 2022. He highlighted a "reduction in the diversity of voices and options" that went against guaranteeing a secure, respectful environment on the social media platform. He pointed to "a lack of clarity in criteria that led to algorithm changes and moderation decisions", and to "personal interventions from Elon Musk in the management on his platform". All this presented a "real danger and a threat for our democracies", he said. French investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine in February reported that the second complaint had come from a cybersecurity director in the public administration. He reported a "major modification in the algorithm used by the X platform, which today offers a huge amount of political content that is hateful, racist, anti-LGBTQ (or) homophobic, and aims to skew democratic debate in France", it said. - Hate speech rules - The prosecutor said Friday that the investigation had been opened after "verifications and contributions by French researchers" and further "elements contributed by different political institutions". According to Beccuau's statement, police are investigating alleged offences of organised data system manipulation. It said the alleged crimes are currently not formally categorised as aggravated by "foreign interference" under a 2024 law but that designation could change in the course of investigations. Laurent Buanec, France director of X, on January 22 said X had "strict, clear and public rules to protect the platform from hateful discourse" and fight disinformation. He said the algorithm was "built in a way to avoid offering you hateful content". Musk has angered European politicians by commenting about domestic politics, notably in Britain and Germany, where he has publicly supported the far-right AfD party. The European Union's former digital affairs commissioner, Thierry Breton of France, described some of his pro-AfD comments as "foreign interference". The commission opened a probe against X in December 2023 and accused it in July 2024 of breaching its digital services regulations. The network risks being ordered to pay a fine of billions of euros. gd-cco/ah/jh/rlp/giv
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
France Probes X Over Claims Algorithm Enabled 'Foreign Interference'
French police are investigating claims that social media network X, formerly known as Twitter, skewed its algorithm to allow "foreign interference", the Paris prosecutor said Friday. Investigators will be examining actions of the company, and its senior managers, after two complaints were filed in January, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said, without specifically mentioning X owner Elon Musk. The two complaints made on January 12 reported "the supposed use of the X algorithm for purposes of foreign interference", her office said, without elaborating. The first complaint was filed by a centrist member of parliament, Eric Bothorel, a member of President Emmanuel Macron's party, who has looked into cybersecurity. Bothorel warned against "recent changes to the X algorithm, as well as apparent interference in its management since Elon Musk acquired" the company in 2022. He highlighted a "reduction in the diversity of voices and options" that went against guaranteeing a secure, respectful environment on the social media platform. He pointed to "a lack of clarity in criteria that led to algorithm changes and moderation decisions", and to "personal interventions from Elon Musk in the management on his platform". All this presented a "real danger and a threat for our democracies", he said. French investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine in February reported that the second complaint had come from a cybersecurity director in the public administration. He reported a "major modification in the algorithm used by the X platform, which today offers a huge amount of political content that is hateful, racist, anti-LGBTQ (or) homophobic, and aims to skew democratic debate in France", it said. The prosecutor said Friday that the investigation had been opened after "verifications and contributions by French researchers" and further "elements contributed by different political institutions". According to Beccuau's statement, police are investigating alleged offences of organised data system manipulation. It said the alleged crimes are currently not formally categorised as aggravated by "foreign interference" under a 2024 law but that designation could change in the course of investigations. Laurent Buanec, France director of X, on January 22 said X had "strict, clear and public rules to protect the platform from hateful discourse" and fight disinformation. He said the algorithm was "built in a way to avoid offering you hateful content". Musk has angered European politicians by commenting about domestic politics, notably in Britain and Germany, where he has publicly supported the far-right AfD party. The European Union's former digital affairs commissioner, Thierry Breton of France, described some of his pro-AfD comments as "foreign interference". The commission opened a probe against X in December 2023 and accused it in July 2024 of breaching its digital services regulations. The network risks being ordered to pay a fine of billions of euros.
New European
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- New European
Trump's German cheerleader finally sees the light
He has spoken supportively of Trump, arranged for Elon Musk to write a pro-AfD editorial for an Axel Springer paper, and has otherwise tried to ingratiate himself with Trump and his circle, even before doing so was fashionable. The Trump headaches are just not going away for Matthias Döpfner, CEO and majority owner of German publishing giant Axel Springer. Döpfner, who owns brands including Politico and Business Insider alongside German newspaper icons Bild and Die Welt – has always been more receptive to MAGAworld than most Europeans. But even Döpfner, it seems, has a line. The executive has written an editorial under his own byline in Die Welt, saying outright that Volodymyr Zelensky should not have been 'thrown out of the White House like a schoolboy who hasn't done his homework', adding that this was no way for a country that has been invaded to be treated by an ally – unless that ally 'has changed sides'. Döpfner might have arrived late to Trump alarmism – if only there had been someone to warn him – but his editorial is at least stark. Trump's America is sacrificing Ukraine… for a transactional 'America First' and 'America Only' strategy,' he concludes. 'If Europe abandons Ukraine, Europe will fall.' As they used to say during Trump's first term: Matthias Döpfner… welcome to the resistance?
Sky News
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
German election: From AI influencers to Russian disinformation, the far-right is getting a leg-up online
Voters in Germany are being exposed to copious pro-AfD narratives online from AI-generated content and Russian disinformation campaigns. Experts monitoring social media say Russian-based groups are involved, including "Doppelganger" and "Storm-1516", which US officials found to be active in America's election last year. Some of these campaigns are using artificial intelligence to spread their messaging ahead of Sunday's vote, which will see Germany elect a new Bundestag. Methods are said to include creating fake TV news stories or deep-fake videos of apparent "witnesses" or "whistle blowers" fabricating stories about prominent politicians. For example, in November 2024, shortly before the snap election was called, a video was published that claimed one parliamentary member who is an outspoken supporter of Ukraine was a Russian spy. Dr Marcus Faber, a member of the Free Democratic Party and head of the government's defence committee, was targeted in a video which used AI to suggest a former adviser was making the claim. We asked Dr Faber for his reaction to the video but he was unable to comment at this time. In another video an 18-year-old woman accused a German minister of child abuse - the accusation was false, and the video was made using AI. A recent report from the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy, or CeMAS, a non-profit thinktank specialising in the analysis of disinformation and right-wing extremism, and Alliance 4 Europe which aims to combat digital disinformation, has linked both stories to the Russian disinformation campaign Storm-1516. The researchers have also been tracking the Doppelganger campaign, run by a Russian PR company Social Design Agency, widely reported to have links to the Kremlin. They have found the group's main tactic is to create fake news articles, which often resemble well-known publications. A network of social media accounts then share and spread those articles across different platforms. Posts will often appear to be from a worried citizen, like the one below that reads: "I am concerned that aid to Ukraine will impact our ability to invest in our own infrastructure and social security systems." The post links to a fake news article criticising Germany's funding for the war in Ukraine, on a fake website resembling the German newspaper Der Spiegel. "Different Russian campaigns are trying, on the one hand, to discredit established parties," says Julia Smirnova, a senior researcher for CeMAS. "They're also trying to boost the far-right AfD." "It's not about just one fake video or one fake article. There's a systematic effort to constantly create this flood of false stories, flood of propaganda stories, and continue spreading them," she says. From mid-December 2024 to mid-January 2025, CeMAS found a total of 630 German-language posts with typical Doppelgänger patterns on X alone. For Ferdinand Gehringer, a cybersecurity policy adviser, Russian interference online isn't a surprise. "There are clear objectives for Russia to interfere and to also manipulate our public opinion," he says. From the party's plan to stop sending arms to Ukraine to their calls to ramp up imports of Russian gas, he says "Russia sees within the AfD's program and ideas the best options for future cooperation". CeMAS has found at least one case where a fake story that originated from a Russian campaign was spread by an AfD politician. Stephan Protschka, a parliamentary member, posted on his social media channels that the Green Party was working with Ukraine to recruit people to commit crimes and blame them on the AfD, a narrative researchers say originated from a Russian disinformation campaign. Sky News asked Mr Protschka for comment, but he did not respond. We also reached out to Social Design Agency to respond to the allegations against the Doppelganger group. They did not respond. We were unable to contact anyone behind the Storm-1516 campaign for comment. Inside Germany Beyond the extremes of Russian-led disinformation campaigns, far-right groups within Germany are also ramping up their online presence. Take Larissa Wagner, an AI-generated social media influencer. "Hey guys, I'm just on my way to the polling station. I'm daring this time. I'm voting for AfD," she said in a video posted to her X account on 22 September 2024, the day of the Brandenburg state election. Her accounts on Twitter and Instagram were both created in the last year and her regular videos espouse far-right narratives, like telling Syrian immigrants to "pack your bags and go back home". She even says she interned with the right-wing magazine Compact, which was banned by the German government last year. It's unclear who created Larissa. When Sky News messaged to ask her on Instagram she replied: "I think it's completely irrelevant who controls me. Influencers like me are the future... "Like anyone else, I want to share my perspective on things. Every influencer does that. But because I'm young, attractive, and right-wing, it's framed as 'influencing the political discourse'." Ferdinand Gehringer notes that her posts have become more radical over time. "The potential for influence is significant-especially since the presence of a young, attractive woman increases audience engagement," he adds. The far-right's use of generative AI on social media goes beyond characters like Larissa. A report this week from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue assessed the scale of its use, identifying 883 posts since April 2023 that included images, memes and music videos made using generative AI. The posts came from far-right supporters as well as the AfD itself - party accounts published more than 50 posts that contained generative AI content in October alone. The AfD is using AI more than other parties, says Pablo Maristany de las Casas, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who co-authored the report. "They're clearly the one actor that is exploiting this technology the most," he says. The messaging in the far-right content they sampled falls into two categories: attacking narratives, like AI-generated images of migrants portrayed as violent criminals, and narratives that glorify traditional German values. When these two narratives are combined, "the far-right community feels more united in the so-called cultural fight against these groups that they're attacking," says Mr Maristany de las Casas. Take Remigration Song, a promotional song and music video commissioned by the now-disbanded youth wing of the AfD. It was produced using AI and advocates the mass deportation of immigrants - known as remigration. It's this home-grown content that some experts say could affect public opinions. A recent survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation, a thinktank which promotes social reform, showed that 80% of Germans consider disinformation on the internet to be a major problem for society and 88% agreed that disinformation is spread to influence political opinions. "Just the foreign information itself is probably not going to shift attitudes" says senior researcher Cathleen Berger. "I think the impact only comes when it is being picked up by domestic actors". Additional reporting from Olive Enokido-Lineham, OSINT producer; Mary Poynter, Data and Forensics producer. The Data and Forensics
