An effigy of Elon Musk is seen on a mobile device with the Twitter logo in this photo illustration on 23 July, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Imran Ahmed remains undeterred by Elon Musk and insists that researchers at his nonprofit, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), will not be intimidated either.
Recently, Twitter, now known as X, filed a lawsuit against the CCDH after the organization published research in June that displeased Musk. The CCDH found an increase in hate speech on X’s platform since Musk took ownership and criticized X for not taking action against subscribers who post racist, homophobic, conspiratorial, and inflammatory content.
Ahmed, in an interview with CNBC, stated that the CCDH has no plans to halt its research on the spread of hateful content and other emerging issues on X. Following news of the lawsuit, Ahmed encouraged CCDH staff to intensify their investigation into X.
“I’ve never, ever, ever walked away from a fight,” Ahmed declared.
Ahmed, 44, resides in Washington, D.C., but studied in the U.K. at the University of Cambridge. After the death of Jo Cox, a U.K. Labour Party colleague and member of parliament, at the hands of a white supremacist, Ahmed founded the CCDH in 2018. Lawyers representing X allege that the CCDH unlawfully accessed the social media analysis tool Brandwatch and illegally scraped data from Twitter using other means. X is demanding a jury trial, monetary damages, and wants to prevent the CCDH and its collaborators or employees from accessing data provided by X to Brandwatch.
While Ahmed did not comment on the specifics of the case, he mentioned that X has yet to officially serve him or the CCDH with the lawsuit.
The CCDH has faced criticism before. Both Meta and TikTok disputed the CCDH’s research methodology after the organization released reports suggesting that the platforms promoted misinformation and content detrimental to teenagers’ mental health. However, neither company sued the nonprofit or accused it of illegal actions.
X’s lawsuit follows a prior letter from a different law firm representing the company, alleging that the CCDH made false and misleading claims related to the Lanham Act, a trademark-related law.
Ahmed characterized Musk’s behavior toward his organization as an attempt to shift blame onto someone else. X did not respond to questions about the lawsuit or the timing of serving the CCDH with it. The company issued a statement to CNBC, reiterating previous statements and accusing the nonprofit of spreading false claims against X to hinder public discourse. Brandwatch and its parent company Cision did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite claims that the CCDH is a censorship organization, Ahmed defended it and denied allegations of covert financial support from tech companies, social media companies, or governments. He clarified that the CCDH receives funding from philanthropic trusts and the public.
The CCDH has provided evidence to the U.S. and U.K. governments regarding internet harms and advocated for the U.K.’s Online Safety Bill, which aims to hold social media companies more accountable for user safety.
Ahmed emphasized that Musk does not understand the true nature of free speech, despite his self-proclaimed championing of it.
Ultimately, Ahmed’s view is that “Musk is behaving like a child who simply cannot take responsibility for the fact that he pooped in his own pants and it wasn’t someone else that did it for him.”
Following the lawsuit’s announcement, three Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Musk and X, accusing him of adopting a hostile stance toward independent researchers and raising questions about X’s business practices. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican, sent a letter to the CCDH and Ahmed as part of a broader censorship investigation, seeking documents that demonstrate the CCDH’s interactions with the federal government, including the Biden administration and social media companies.
Since news of the lawsuit broke, the CCDH has received numerous donations and messages of support from organizations such as Amnesty International, the Anti-Defamation League, Friends of the Earth, and Planned Parenthood. Other groups, including GLAAD, the Molly Rose Foundation, Free Press, Check My Ads, and the Coalition for Independent Tech Research, have also voiced their support for the CCDH.
Ahmed believes these organizations recognize the importance of the information ecosystem and oppose Musk’s attempts to impose his ideologies on a major communications platform. He stated, “We have the right to comment on it, on the private companies who administer significant parts of it.”