Guardian newspaper quits "toxic" X as backlash to Elon Musk sees exodus

1 week ago 3

The Guardian newspaper announced Wednesday it would no longer post content from its official accounts on Elon Musk's X, branding it a "toxic media platform."

London, UK - Britain's The Guardian newspaper announced Wednesday it would no longer post content from its official accounts on Elon Musk's X, branding it a "toxic media platform" home to "often disturbing content."

The Guardian will no longer post through its official X accounts, branding Elon Musk's platform "toxic."

"We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives," the left-leaning media organization, which has nearly 11 million followers on X, said in a statement on its website.

It added that its "resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere".

"This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism," the statement noted.

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"The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse."

The paper's main X handle – @guardian – was still accessible Wednesday, but a message on it advised "this account has been archived" while redirecting visitors to its website.

The Guardian noted that X users would still be able to share its articles, and that it would still "occasionally embed content from X" within its articles, given "the nature of live news reporting".

It also said its reporters would still be able to use the site and other social networks on which the paper does not have an account.

"Social media can be an important tool for news organizations and help us to reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work," the Guardian added.

Users flock to alternatives

Bluesky and other social media platforms have seen an uptick in users, many of whom are quitting X in protest at Musk.

Musk bought X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022 and has shaped it according to his far-right politics, going all-in for Donald Trump during the presidential elections.

He endorsed the Republicans and used his personal account boasting nearly 205 million followers to sway voters in favor of Trump, who on Tuesday paid back the favor by announcing that Musk would lead a so-called Department of Government Efficiency in his incoming administration, alongside the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Thousands of X accounts were reportedly deactivated in the wake of Trump's election victory, with other platforms such as Bluesky and Meta's Threads seeing a surge of new sign-ups.

Cover photo: Collage: ANDREW COWIE / AFP & REUTERS