Many users have expressed discontent with the platform’s evolution since billionaire Elon Musk bought the social platform in 2022.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Since the U.S. presidential election, X, formerly known as Twitter, has experienced one of its largest user exoduses since Elon Musk bought the social platform in 2022.
Many users have expressed discontent with the platform’s evolution under the billionaire’s ownership – a series of rebranding, policy changes, massive layoffs and an overall lax approach to negativity, misinformation and hate speech. There were also concerns regarding questionable labels on media accounts – stating whether an organization was state-affiliated media, government-funded media or publicly funded media – that caused some outlets such as National Public Radio to leave the platform in April 2023.
In recent weeks, Mr. Musk’s involvement in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the announcement that he will have a role in the new administration has further encouraged others to leave X.
Many users are also worried about changes to X’s terms of service, which took effect on Nov. 15. X will require all legal disputes related to the platform to be brought exclusively to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas or state courts in Tarrant County, Tex. This may make it easier for the platform to tip the scales, as judges there often favour conservative litigants in political cases. Another facet of the changes is that users who continue stay on the platform after Nov. 15 essentially give X permission to use their tweets, photos and videos to train its AI models.
Many dissatisfied users have flocked to other social media apps, including Bluesky and Instagram’s Threads. Bluesky reported it gained 1 million users in the week after the election.
Here’s a look at the companies, media organizations and celebrities who publicly joined the X exodus in recent days.
The Guardian quits X, citing racism and conspiracy theories
British news publisher the Guardian announced on Wednesday that it will no longer post content to X. The left-leaning Guardian, which has 10.7 million followers on its main account, is the first large British media company to retreat from the platform.
“We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere,” the Guardian said in an editorial. “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.”
In response, Mr. Musk said of the Guardian in an X post: “They are irrelevant.”
The Guardian has more than 80 accounts on X with approximately 27 million followers, according to its website.
Spain’s La Vanguardia leaves X, citing ‘toxic content’
Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia also announced on Wednesday that it will stop posting to X and plans to suspend its accounts.
The Barcelona-based newspaper, which has 1.7 million followers on the platform, said X has become an “echo chamber” for disinformation and conspiracy theories, and lacks an “effective and reasonable” moderating process.
La Vanguardia, Spain’s fourth most-read newspaper for general news, said it will stop posting directly but will allow its journalists to maintain personal accounts. The editor, Jordi Juan, said he has suspended his own account.
“Since the arrival of Musk to X, this platform has increasingly tolerated toxic and manipulated content thanks to the proliferation of bots,” Mr. Juan wrote in an editorial.
“Ideas that violate human rights, such as hatred of ethnic minorities, misogyny and racism, are part of the viral content distributed on X, where they gain virality and capture more user time to earn more money from advertising,” the paper added.
La Vanguardia also cited Mr. Trump appointing Mr. Musk as head of a new Department of Government Efficiency and the spread of disinformation by bots (from countries as far away as India) about the floods in Valencia two weeks ago as reasons behind its decision.
German soccer club St. Pauli leaves X over alleged hate speech
German Bundesliga soccer club St. Pauli said on Thursday it was withdrawing from X because the platform has become an “amplifier of hate” that could influence the coming German election.
“Musk has converted X into a hate machine. Racism and conspiracy theories are allowed to spread unchecked and even curated. Insults and threats are seldom sanctioned and are sold as freedom of speech,” it said in a statement.
St. Pauli, which joined the platform in 2013 and has 250,000 followers, is the first major soccer club to leave X. It has since moved to Bluesky, and urges its followers to also make the switch.
Many high-profile celebrities also quit X
Don Lemon, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lizzo are among the latest big names to leave the platform.
Mr. Lemon, a former CNN anchor, posted a statement to both X and Instagram Reels citing his reasons: “I once believed it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose.”
The former anchor also pointed to X’s new terms of service, which may make it easier for the platform to punish critics.
In January, Mr. Lemon announced he had entered into a business partnership with Mr. Musk and X to make original content. But just three months later, X posted that it was backing out of the deal. Mr. Lemon said it was because the billionaire entrepreneur did not like the questions put to him during an interview for the new The Don Lemon Show podcast.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, actress Ms. Curtis shared a screenshot showing her X account had been successfully deactivated.
Meanwhile, musician Lizzo shared on Instagram that she had joined Bluesky because she’s “leaving toxicity in 2024.”
Stephen King also announced that he is leaving the platform. In a post on X, he wrote: ”I’m leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic. Follow me on Threads, if you like.”
The author made his statement a day after he debunked rumours that he was banned from X by Mr. Musk.
Hate speech watchdog CCDH to quit Musk’s X ahead of terms change
The Center for Countering Digital Hate said on Thursday it would leave X, citing concerns that the new terms of service could hinder the non-profit’s ability to prevail in court battles involving the platform.
“Now, the billionaire will be able to bring lawsuits to friendly courts against whoever disagrees with him on his platform,” the CCDH said. “... We made the decision to leave X because the platform has declined further.”
With reports from Reuters.