UK: Technical explainer on X’s recommender system and the 2024 racist riots
Overview
After a triple murder in Southport, England, false claims regarding the perpetrator’s identity spread rapidly on X (formerly Twitter) contributing to violent racist riots which erupted in several locations across the UK.
Amnesty International’s technical assessment of X’s publicly available algorithm reveals a platform that systematically promotes and amplifies content that provokes strong reactions and controversy, often with insufficient safeguards to mitigate resulting harms.
Amnesty International's analysis finds that X’s design and policy choices created fertile ground for inflammatory racist narratives to thrive in the wake of the Southport attack – with significant human rights consequences for migrants, Muslims, and racialised communities.
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False claims on X (formerly Twitter) spread rapidly after tragic triple murder in Southport, contributing to violent racist riots across the UK. Amnesty International’s analysis links X’s design and policy choices to the amplification of content which…
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