UN Says Worried By Hate, Misinformation On Social Media

The United Nations is worried about spreading hate and misinformation on social media networks, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday.

The UN spokesperson made these remarks after Elon Musk dissolved Twitter's department that addresses harassment cases on the microblogging website.

"We are very much concerned about how social media platforms become an environment that spreads hate and disinformation. And I think it's incumbent on social media companies to ensure that this does not happen," Dujarric told a briefing.

The secretary-general, however, has no comments on Twitter's new technical changes, Dujarric added.

On Monday, Twitter dismantled the company's Trust and Safety Council responsible for tackling harassment and child exploitation. The move comes as newly minted Twitter owner Musk is cancelling many of the network's policies and practices that had been in place prior to his acquisition.

Musk this month announced he wants to change certain technical features of Twitter, including increasing the number of characters on Twitter from 280 to 4,000.

In addition, the billionaire would like to see the maximum length of videos extended -- a change which could help bloggers and others to make money while creating better content on the platform.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)