Americans think Elon Musk’s X is as trustworthy as the US government. And that’s not meant as a compliment.
A survey released in May by All About Cookies, a company that promotes digital security and online privacy, asked 1,000 U.S. adults how much they trust big tech and media companies compared to their own government. EMarketer, a market research firm owned by Business Insider’s parent company, released the survey data on Friday.
Companies like Amazon and Google topped the list, while Musk’s platform came last.
Survey data showed that 70% of respondents trusted Amazon, 65% trusted Google, and 64% trusted Netflix. Only 29% trusted TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. U.S. officials are concerned that ByteDance is sharing data with the Chinese government and have demanded that the company sell TikTok to a U.S.-owned company or risk a nationwide ban.
However, only 28% of respondents trusted X, the same percentage who trusted the U.S. government. The survey also showed that 43% of respondents did not trust the U.S. government and 44% did not trust X.
The survey didn’t say why respondents ranked X so low on the list, but the platform has been the subject of controversy since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, rebranded it and overhauled how it moderates content.
Survey data reveals that Amazon and Google are the most trusted Big Tech companies.
Musk’s approach to content moderation
After taking control of Twitter, Musk instituted mass layoffs, particularly in the reliability and safety team, which dropped from about 230 employees to about 20. More reliability and safety staff were let go the following year.
Yoel Roth, who previously led the trust and safety team, resigned from the company shortly after Musk took over.
Concerns about misinformation on social media apps grew rapidly after Musk’s acquisition, leading him to launch Community Notes in 2022. However, a Bloomberg report from 2023 found that an analysis of nearly 400 X posts containing misinformation about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza found that Community Notes typically took more than seven hours to appear, with some taking as long as 70 hours.
Musk himself has faced criticism for his own questionable posts, including being criticized by business leaders for spreading anti-Semitic posts on X in 2023. He retracted his comments in January during a conference hosted by the European Jewish Federation, saying he was “ignorant” about anti-Semitism and “has Jewish ties.”
Elon Musk bought X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022. Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Musk is currently dealing with the fallout from another X post, made this month after former President Donald Trump survived a second assassination attempt, in which he questioned why President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have not faced a similar threat.
Musk’s post drew swift criticism for inciting political violence, and he deleted it and defended himself by calling it a “joke.” The US Secret Service told Bloomberg News it was “aware” of Musk’s post and was investigating.
Musk’s X has also clashed with several foreign governments, most recently in Brazil, where X’s lawyers finally caved in to demands for stricter content moderation on Friday, months after the country’s Supreme Court ordered a nationwide ban of the platform.
A representative for X did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
