Daily Agenda: EnbW, Deutsche Börse, BMW, Uniper, Twitter featured prominently today
In the lead-up to the US midterm elections, social media platform Twitter, now rebranded as X, has reactivated a 2018 policy to prevent the spread of false and misleading posts. The measures aim to maintain trust in the election process and discourage content that could deter voters from casting their ballots.
However, recent analyses indicate that X's approach to combating election-related misinformation faces challenges in speed, neutrality, and effectiveness. The platform continues to rely on a crowd-sourced fact-checking system, Community Notes, to flag misinformation. Yet, studies suggest that this system is slow and susceptible to manipulation. For instance, notes can take an average of 14 days to be published, which is too slow to effectively curb misinformation spreading within hours.
Newly joined users, presumed unbiased, can be exploited by malicious actors to promote particular viewpoints and influence note ratings, undermining the system’s neutrality. There is also no evidence from the search results of new or stricter platform-level policies specifically targeting election misinformation on X in 2025.
Some studies highlight algorithmic biases favoring conservative content and amplification of state-controlled media, which may complicate misinformation dynamics on the platform. Notably, the most notable Twitter user to have been suspended by the social network is former President Donald Trump for disseminating misleading content.
Meanwhile, other companies are making strides in different areas. Clearstream Banking AG, a subsidiary of the DEUTSCHE BÖRSE, has taken measures to strengthen risk management, addressing some of the shortcomings identified by the financial supervisory authority Bafin.
In the automotive sector, BMW and Toyota are set to start mass production and sales of fuel cell cars from 2025. Uniper has proposed an unusual LNG swap deal to plug supply gaps in Europe, rerouting LNG intended for Asia to Europe.
EnBW, which operates one of the three still-running nuclear power plants in Germany, Neckarwestheim, has also made news. The company's CEO, Frank Mastiaux, emphasized that new fuel rods are needed for the nuclear power plant's continued operation. EnBW's eastern German supplier VNG has secured a credit line from the state development bank KfW to cushion the financial burden of high gas prices.
FREENET, a German telecommunications company, has raised its 2022 forecast after a profit increase in the first half. The company expects its EBITDA to be between 460 and 480 million euros. Evonik is reportedly considering the sale of its C4 chemistry business, which generated sales of 1.8 billion euros in 2021.
As the US midterm elections approach, it remains to be seen how effectively X can combat misinformation on its platform. The company's reliance on community policing, without strong centralized enforcement or new technical interventions, may pose significant challenges.
- The challenges faced by X in combating election-related misinformation extend to the arena of finance, as there is no evidence of new platform-level policies specifically targeting election misinformation on X in 2025.
- In the realm of energy, while companies like BMW and Toyota are making strides in producing fuel cell cars, the operations of a nuclear power plant like Neckarwestheim, managed by EnBW, rely on the procurement of new fuel rods for its continued operation.
