Elon Musk’s efforts to transform X, formerly Twitter, into a free speech platform face ongoing challenges, as a new study by the Media Research Center (MRC) reveals continued bias against conservatives. Despite Musk’s initiatives, the platform’s algorithm appears to favor leftist accounts over conservative ones.
The MRC study found that the algorithm used by X to determine the visibility of congressional members’ accounts still reflects biases from the platform’s previous management. Researchers used X’s AI search assistant, Grok, to analyze how visibility scores are assigned to members of Congress. These scores influence which accounts are promoted or suppressed.
The study identified four factors contributing to visibility scores: Mass Appeal (38%), Reputation (30%), Toxicity (21%), and Follow (11%). Subjective factors like “Reputation” and “Toxicity” significantly impacted the results, leading to biased outcomes.
The data showed a clear advantage for Democrats, with Senate Democrats receiving an average visibility score of 82.4 compared to 66.8 for Senate Republicans. House Democrats had an average score of 67, while House Republicans scored 58.6. Notably, the top 42 visibility scores in the Senate all went to Democrats.
One striking finding was that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was deemed the “least toxic, most reputable, and highest-ranked House member,” and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) received the highest visibility score of any legislator.
MRC did not directly blame Musk for these biased ratings, suggesting instead that an internal resistance within X is undermining his efforts. Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter exposed significant collusion between social media platforms and government officials to censor conservative voices, particularly regarding COVID-19 policies.
The study highlights the ongoing struggle against leftist control over social media platforms, stressing the need for continued efforts to ensure unbiased and open digital spaces.