Center for Countering Digital Hate

• On Saturday, X (formerly Twitter) chairman Elon Musk tweeted he would be removing the microblogging platform’s block function.
• Why does Musk want to block the block function?

Why block the ‘block’?

• Simply, the block function on X prevents one user from interacting with another.
• With the click of a button, the blocker can deny another user the ability to read their tweets or reshare their content.
• He has also condemned campaigns among users to block subscribers paying for a Twitter Blue subscription (which grants them perks such as a blue tick beside their name and the ability to edit posts).
• The likelihood of skirmishes is reduced when “players” can block one another.

What would the consequences be?

• Blocking provides some very tangible benefits, helping users (especially high-profile ones) do anything from avoiding harassment to simply cleaning up spam in their replies.
• According to the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, X “fails to act on 99% of hate posted by Twitter Blue subscribers”.
• Musk has disputed the findings and filed a lawsuit against the group (an action that sits uneasily alongside his free-speech absolutism).

What happens beyond the block?

• Further, both the Apple Store and Google Play have guidelines stipulating that platforms hosting user-generated content must allow the blocking of other users.
• Removing this capacity might lead to the app stores dropping X, which could spell economic death for the platform.
• Or he may argue a stronger form of mute fulfils the same requirements as the block function.

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a self-described vaccine sceptic, announced his candidacy to run for president as a Democrat in April.
• Our new study on the rhetorical techniques used to spread vaccine disinformation partly explains Kennedy’s appeal to voters.
• We examined the strategies of RFK Jr and American osteopath Joseph Mercola, two prominent members of the “disinformation dozen”.

1. Identity and belonging

• COVID truthers offer their followers access to an exclusive in-group identity.
• They adhere to a dualistic belief system that divides the world into good and bad actors, light and dark forces.
• For COVID truthers, it is not simply that their opponents have acted through ignorance or error – they frame them as corrupt and evil.

2. True knowledge and enlightenment

• Figures such as Kennedy and Mercola capitalise on this, appealing to those disillusioned with the government’s official narrative.
• They present themselves as having access to privileged knowledge and understanding.
• They do this by revealing alternative “facts” that contradict the official narrative, and that they claim have been concealed from the public.

3. Meaning and purpose

• COVID truthers provide their followers with meaning, offering a reason to believe in a greater purpose.
• This can take the form of New Age spirituality, suggesting that humanity is undergoing a “shift in consciousness”, or a more secular commitment to truth, freedom and justice.
• Kennedy frequently deploys the language of social justice in his posts and newsletters, as a rallying call to unite his followers.

4. Leadership and guidance

• Kennedy’s campaign contrasts the power of corrupt government institutions, corporate cronyism and nefarious media elites with the powerlessness that the disenfranchised public feels.
• As a consequence, he positions himself as an incorruptible leader with the capacity to “clean up government”, restore civil liberties, and speak truth to power.

Why this matters

• Filings with charity regulators show that revenue for Kennedy’s organisation more than doubled in 2020, to US$6.8 million.
• In our current post-truth era, where opinions often triumph over facts, influencers and celebrities can achieve authority.

• NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For decades, Big Pharma has been pushing harmful chemicals and life-ending treatments as the best possible solution for the millions of people suffering from deadly cancers or other life-threatening illnesses.
• Through their efforts at The Truth About Cancer, founders Ty and Charlene Bollinger have spent well over a decade blowing the whistle on Big Pharma's toxic cancer treatments, which often cause more harm than healing.
• In 2016, they published "The Truth About Cancer" book, which hit #2 on the NYT Bestsellers list in its first week and stayed in the Top 10 for three consecutive months.
• The afflicted and their loved ones deserve to know about every possible avenue of treatment," Charlene Bollinger, Co-Founder of The Truth About Cancer explained.

• Yet, so far, they have failed to finish the job," said Imran Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of CCDH.
• "The CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram know exactly who is violating their terms of service.
• Their lies cost lives, and social media companies\' refusal to remove them has dire consequences.
• Big Tech must stop profiting from the spread of this disinformation.