X Reacts Angrily to EU's Fake News Management Demand... "Tens of Thousands of Contents Deleted"

Social networking service X (formerly Twitter) has rebutted the European Union's (EU) criticism that it has not properly managed fake news related to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, stating that it has deleted tens of thousands of pieces of content.

According to major foreign media including the Associated Press on the 12th (local time), Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, responded in a letter sent to Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Market, that X deleted tens of thousands of pieces of content or labeled them as misleading in the days following Hamas's attack on Israel.

CEO Yaccarino said, “Since the conflict began, we have identified and removed hundreds of Hamas-linked accounts from the platform,” adding, “There is no place for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups on X,” and “We are proactively responding by deleting such accounts in real time.”

Earlier, EU Commissioner Breton urged Elon Musk to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), stating, “After Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel, we have indications that X is being used to spread illegal content and misinformation,” citing concerns that X has become a channel for disseminating fake news related to the Israel-Palestine situation.

In response, Musk showed frustration, saying, “Our policy is that everything’s source is disclosed and transparent, which is an approach supported by the EU as well,” and demanded, “List what violations there are so the public can see.”

Within the EU region, 19 platforms including X and Facebook are classified as “very large online platforms and search engines” under the DSA, subjecting them to stronger regulations.

Each platform must establish preventive systems such as reporting channels to ensure harmful or illegal content can be swiftly removed, and failure to comply may result in fines of up to 6% of their annual global revenue.

Commissioner Breton is also reported to have sent a letter to Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, demanding a response within 24 hours on what measures are being taken to remove illegal harmful content.