Mark Cuban Blasts Elon Musk's 'Control' of Social Media Algorithms

Over the past year, Elon Musk has worked to restructure the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and create what he believed would be a digital town square for the world. X has implemented many changes since Musk took over, but his actions have been criticized by some as he seemingly disregards the spread of misinformation and extremism on the platform.

Fellow billionaire Mark Cuban is one of those disgruntled X users. In response to others praising Musk for opening up the "freedom of speech" floodgates on the platform, Cuban had a very different idea about how Musk is running things.

"The problem with misinformation on any platform is not that it’s there. The problem occurs when you can’t avoid it," Cuban said. "That’s what drives users away from this platform. There is always sh-t that is ridiculous in the very first column. We didn’t ask for it. You can’t not see it. No user of a social platform ever said they wanted to see misinformation when they opened an app."

Cuban is referring to X's "For You" tab, a curated timeline of posts serving content from accounts you don't follow as well as those you do. When told that X's Community Notes feature provides context and extra information on posts to avoid this issue, Cuban pointed out that most users aren't turned on by the idea of putting in effort to find what they need. "That means people have to work to use the app. That's a problem," he stated plainly.

In response to an X user praising the platform's free speech and misinformation-correction benefits, Cuban noted that it's not just about how information is presented on the site, but which posts get priority in being pushed out on the For You page—and in turn, how your personal views may be affirmed as a result.

"He who controls the algorithm controls the platform," Cuban said. "You will see what he wants you to see and then, and only then, will your speech be your own."

It's not the first time Cuban has confronted Musk online. He also noted that he has "lots of issues" with TikTok, so he isn't just coming for X. The South African-born Tesla CEO, meanwhile, has yet to respond to Cuban's latest claims.