Election officials struggle to counter Elon Musk's misinformation on X: 'My microphone is significantly smaller'

With 202.4 million followers, every word Elon Musk posts on X (formerly Twitter) reaches a massive audience, and he posts a lot¡ªover 67 times a day, according to the blog Stats with Sasa. While this frequent activity is generally seen as part of Musk's online persona, the stakes are much higher as the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches.

Musk, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, has been sharing and amplifying conspiracy theories and misinformation about the election.

Election officials are scrambling to debunk these false claims, but the damage may already be done, as millions have already seen and possibly believed Musk's posts.

For instance, recently, Musk reignited a false claim that Michigan had registered more voters than the number of eligible adults, suggesting widespread voter fraud.

Michigan has more registered voters than eligible citizens!? Is that true @CommunityNotes? https://t.co/f7Q2iCZdQ7

¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2024

Election officials, like Michigan County Clerk Barb Bynum, have tried to counter these inaccuracies.

Bynum, who regularly posts factual election information to her 25,000 follower account, explained that federal law requires keeping inactive voters on the rolls until they skip two elections, and such voters don't receive ballots.

However, her efforts to correct the record often struggle to gain traction compared to Musk's posts.

For instance, while Musk's misleading post garnered 32.2 million views, Bynum's explanation only reached 63,000.

"My microphone is significantly smaller than the owner of Twitter's, but I still have to use my platform to correct mis- and disinformation, especially when it is about election administration and the integrity of our elections," Bynum noted in an interview with NBC News.

Philadelphia city commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican, emphasised the responsibility of sharing accurate information online, saying, "Whether you have 200 million followers or one follower, it is important for everybody to be thoughtful in what they are sharing," as quoted by NBC News.

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