Analysis: despite Elon Musk's pledge in late November, CSAM still spreads on Twitter, sometimes recommended by its algorithm; one video drew over 120,000 views

Child sexual abuse imagery spreads on Twitter even after the company is notified: One video drew 120,000 views.

New York Times 2023-02-06

Context & Ripple Effects

Musk's late-November promise followed layoffs that reportedly left one staffer dedicated to CSAM removal, making the persistence of recommended material a test of whether Twitter's stated priority was backed by operating capacity. The next day's tests similarly found that known material remained available and recommendable on the service.

First-order effects

Twitter's recommendation system is directing users toward child sexual abuse material that remains online after notification, extending its reach beyond the original uploaders.
Musk's public child-safety commitment is immediately undermined by evidence that a single video accumulated more than 120,000 views while circulating on Twitter.

Second-order effects

Twitter faces pressure to show that its removal and recommendation controls can detect known material, a concern later reinforced by researchers finding uploads of more than 40 known images were not stopped.
The gap between Twitter's pledge and observed enforcement makes staffing and moderation-system decisions central to its credibility with users and outside safety researchers.

Third-order effects

If repeated failures to remove and suppress known CSAM persist, platform safety will be judged not by executive commitments but by whether moderation capacity and recommendation design prevent amplification.
The subsequent reinstatement of an account that had posted such imagery points to a broader governance problem: enforcement, account decisions, and distribution systems must align for a safety policy to hold.

The trend: Twitter's CSAM problem is part of a broader shift in which platform-safety claims are increasingly tested against the behavior of recommendation systems and the staffing behind enforcement.

Discussion

@tonyromm Tony Romm on x
An NYT review of Twitter found child porn and exploitation “persisted on the platform, including widely circulated material that the authorities consider the easiest to detect and eliminate,” despite Musk's promise to do so https://www.nytimes.com/...
@lingerie_addict Cora Harrington on x
Further repercussions of all that staff cutting https://www.nytimes.com/...
@therecount @therecount on x
“All the while, people on dark-web forums discuss how Twitter remains a platform where they can easily find the material while avoiding detection, according to transcripts of those forums from an anti-abuse group that monitors them.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@ngrossman81 Nicholas Grossman on x
OK, so Elon didn't reduce child porn on Twitter. And yes, he called FBI reimbursements for aiding child porn investigations censorship payments. But he said he'd do it, accounts he pushed into people's feeds said he did, and isn't that what really matters? https://www.nytimes.com…
@justinhendrix Justin Hendrix on x
“But a review by The New York Times found that the imagery, commonly known as child pornography, persisted on the platform, including widely circulated material that the authorities consider the easiest to detect and eliminate.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@jamesrbuk James Ball on x
“After Mr. Musk took the reins in late October, Twitter largely eliminated or lost staff experienced with the problem and failed to prevent the spread of abusive images previously identified by the authorities...” https://www.nytimes.com/...

Chronicles