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Elon Musk’s X Chat Promotion Fact-Checked on His Own Platform
Elon Musk received a public fact-check on his own social media platform after making claims about the security of competing messaging services. The billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter) urged users to abandon WhatsApp and Signal in favor of X Chat, citing privacy concerns—only to have his assertions corrected by the platform’s Community Notes feature.
In a post on Monday, Musk wrote: “WhatsApp is not secure. Even Signal is questionable. Use X Chat.” His comments came amid a new lawsuit filed against Meta Platforms Inc., WhatsApp’s parent company, alleging false claims about the privacy and security of the messaging service.
The Community Notes clarification quickly flagged Musk’s post as misleading. The correction explained that while X Chat does offer end-to-end encryption, it lacks forward secrecy, meaning if a key is compromised, past messages could be exposed. Additionally, the note pointed out that private keys on X Chat are controlled by X itself and protected only by a four-digit PIN, while the service still collects metadata.
By contrast, the community-generated correction stated that Signal provides forward secrecy, device-only keys, and minimal metadata collection—contradicting Musk’s characterization of the messaging app as “questionable.”
The lawsuit that appears to have prompted Musk’s comments was filed last week in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco by plaintiffs from multiple countries including India, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa. They allege that Meta has made false claims about WhatsApp’s privacy features, specifically challenging the company’s assertions about end-to-end encryption.
Meta has prominently featured end-to-end encryption as a key security component of WhatsApp, stating that messages are accessible only to senders and recipients—not even to WhatsApp or Meta. In encrypted chats, which Meta says are enabled by default, WhatsApp displays an in-app message stating that “only people in this chat can read, listen to, or share” the messages.
The plaintiffs claim this is false, alleging that “Meta and WhatsApp store, analyse, and can access virtually all of WhatsApp users’ purportedly ‘private’ communications.” The lawsuit cites unnamed whistleblowers who reportedly helped expose these practices, though it doesn’t identify them or elaborate on their roles.
Meta has forcefully rejected these allegations. Company spokesperson Andy Stone called the lawsuit “frivolous” and indicated Meta would pursue sanctions against the plaintiffs’ legal representatives. “Any claim that people’s WhatsApp messages are not encrypted is categorically false and absurd,” Stone said in an emailed statement. “WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade. This lawsuit is a frivolous work of fiction.”
The incident highlights the ongoing competition in the secure messaging space, where WhatsApp remains the global leader with over two billion users. Signal has built a reputation as a highly secure alternative favored by privacy advocates and security experts, while Musk’s X Chat represents a relatively new entrant seeking to expand its market share.
This is not the first time Musk has faced Community Notes corrections on his own platform. The feature, which allows users to add context to potentially misleading posts, has become a key content moderation tool on X since Musk acquired the company in 2022.
The very public fact-check underscores the challenges Musk faces as he attempts to position X Chat as a credible competitor in the messaging market while maintaining the integrity of X’s community moderation features.
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6 Comments
While Musk may have good intentions in promoting privacy-focused alternatives, the community fact-check underscores the importance of verifying claims, especially when it comes to sensitive personal data. Transparency and accountability are key.
The privacy and security of messaging apps is a complex issue, and it’s encouraging to see the community engaged in fact-checking and providing a balanced perspective. Kudos to the X platform for enabling this level of transparency.
The privacy and security of messaging apps is a complex issue, and it’s good to see the community fact-checking Musk’s claims. Transparency around the technical details is important for users to make informed choices.
Agreed. It’s encouraging to see the community actively engaged in evaluating the merits of different messaging platforms. Fact-checking helps cut through the hype and marketing claims.
This is a timely reminder that even high-profile tech figures can make questionable claims about security and privacy. The community’s willingness to push back and provide a more nuanced perspective is valuable.
Interesting development in the ongoing privacy debate. Elon Musk’s promotion of XChat as an alternative to WhatsApp and Signal is a bold move, but the community fact-check highlights some key security differences that users should be aware of.