Musk’s reposting of a manipulated campaign video sparks backlash and raises questions about platform policies.
On the evening of July 26, Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, stirred controversy by reposting a manipulated video of Vice-President Kamala Harris. The edited clip, which originated from the Harris campaign’s official video “We Choose Freedom,” was digitally altered to change its content. The manipulated video made it appear as though Harris was making disparaging remarks about President Joe Biden, stating that he was “senile” and that she was an “ultimate diversity hire.”
The altered version of the video also swapped out images of Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, replacing them with images of Biden. The video, which was initially posted on the @MrReaganUSA account with a note that it was a “parody,” was shared by Musk without any such disclaimer. Musk captioned the repost with a laughing emoji and a statement saying, “This is amazing,” which garnered millions of views.
Despite the disclaimer by the original poster, Musk’s repost appears to violate X’s policy on synthetic and manipulated media, which prohibits the sharing of content that may mislead or deceive viewers. X’s policy, implemented in April 2023, aims to reduce the spread of content that could confuse the public on important issues, especially during sensitive periods like election campaigns. According to the policy, such content must be flagged or removed.
The repost quickly garnered significant attention, with many observers criticizing Musk’s actions as a breach of platform guidelines. Alex Howard, director of the Digital Democracy Project, condemned the post, questioning whether X would enforce its own rules, particularly in the lead-up to the election.
The Harris campaign responded sharply, calling the video a “manipulated lie” and contrasting it with the real freedom Harris offers. However, Musk has not commented on the matter, and neither has the account that originally posted the video.
As the election season intensifies, the role of social media platforms in controlling misinformation continues to be a contentious issue, particularly with high-profile figures like Musk using them to amplify controversial content.
