Update: This post has been updated to reflect that it was Kristen Ruby, Author of The Ruby Files and President of Ruby Media Group that first noticed X was seeking to hire a disinformation specialist.
X has distributed a call for applicants to fill new roles tasked with combating disinformation amidst an approaching 2024 election. This move will raise eyebrows among advocates of freedom of speech, particularly considering what happened when this was done with the 2020 election and since Elon Musk had famously bought Twitter with the pledge to honor the values of free speech and had initiated the release of the Twitter Files, detailing instances of election censorship from the past.
This development, however, first quote-tweeted by Kristen Ruby, raises the question of hapless users being coerced by external forces – state authorities or Big Tech corporations.
Critics like Foundation For Freedom Online’s Mike Benz, who posted about this on X following Kristen Ruby’s tweet (@sparklingruby), have tagged these positions as creating covert channels for censorship, exacerbating the threat to freedom online.
The channels being tapped for recruitment further spur speculation about the true motives behind these positions.
The roles encompass the safeguarding of information integrity and the nurturing of civic conversations on X on a global scale. Preference is being given to candidates adept in European Union languages for the positions which promise to deal with high-impact issues at a substantial scale.
What is particularly unsettling for freedom speech supporters is the conduit used for promoting the job postings – DisinfoDocket.com, a site backed by “anti-disinformation” groups having allegiances with federal cybersecurity agencies.
Compiling these facts together, it seems that the promised motto of free speech, once synonymous with Musk’s Twitter acquisition, is experiencing a jarring clash with the true intent behind these recently announced positions. While the tech community awaits responses from Musk and X, one can only hope that the promise of free speech remains untouched.
