Last updated on February 27th, 2024 at 12:20 pm

Fidelity, a mutual fund with a stake in the social media platform, marked down the value of its shares, as disclosed by Axios

Fidelity, a mutual fund with a stake in X Holdings, disclosed that the social media platform X has lost 71% of its value since Elon Musk purchased it. Musk bought Twitter for $44bn in October 2022 and renamed it X in July 2023. Based on Fidelity’s estimate, X’s value is now approximately $12.5bn.

In the first year following Musk’s acquisition, X saw a 15% decline in monthly users, attributed to concerns about increased hate speech on the platform. Since the takeover, X has downsized its staff by at least 50% and decreased moderation. In September, the European Union issued a warning to Musk, noting that X had the highest ratio of disinformation posts among major social media platforms.

Fidelity’s revised valuation of X was based on a disclosure that extended to the end of November 2023, as reported by Axios. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The disclosure period likely encompassed the aftermath of several major companies pulling advertising from X after Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, according to the New York Times. Musk responded to the boycott by telling companies to “go fuck yourself” during an interview at an event in New York.

Forbes lists Musk as the world’s richest man, with a net worth of $251 billion. When he acquired Twitter, Musk stated that he was buying the company “to try to help humanity.”

Since the takeover, Musk has reinstated several individuals previously banned from the platform, including former President Donald Trump and the right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Trump faces over 90 criminal charges related to the subversion of the 2020 election, retention of government secrets after his presidency, and hush-money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels. He is also defending against civil lawsuits regarding business affairs and a rape allegation deemed substantially true by a judge.

Meanwhile, Jones recently offered to pay $55 million over 10 years to the families affected by the Sandy Hook tragedy, who sued him for spreading falsehoods about the 2012 schoolhouse killings in Newtown, Connecticut, suggesting they were part of a hoax to promote gun control.

Jones made this offer after a Texas judge ruled that he could not use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying the nearly $1.5 billion he was ordered to pay to the victims’ families. Believers in Jones’s misinformation targeted the families with abuse and threats.