X, the platform previously known as Twitter, fired half of its election integrity team, raising a red flag about the company’s role in the spread of misinformation worldwide.
The social media company started by laying off all four Dublin team members, including X’s global head of election integrity, Aaron Rodericks.
The purge of X’s employees occurred after CEO Linda Yaccarino told the Financial Times on September 27 that the company was developing its election integrity division worldwide.
It is also the result of X making major changes to its platform, including the removal of users’ ability to report misinformation.
Elon Musk commented on the layoffs in a post on X, denigrating the former team.
“Oh, you mean the ‘Election Integrity’ Team that was undermining election integrity?” posted Musk. “Yeah, they’re gone.”
Rodericks, who is currently in a legal battle with the social media company over disciplinary actions, wrote that his former employer is looking to hire an election lead.
“If you have a passion for protecting the integrity of elections and civic events, X is certainly at the center of the conversation,” he wrote.
The move comes as major elections are expected in the U.S. and India next year. In 2016, Twitter was blamed as a major source of election disinformation.
