Paris, (Newsman) :Major media outlets are abandoning X (formerly Twitter) in growing numbers, citing concerns over the platform’s role in spreading disinformation under the ownership of Elon Musk, an ally of president-elect Donald Trump.
The latest to depart is Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter (DN), which stopped publishing its content on the platform on Friday, becoming the third major media organization to do so. The decision follows similar moves by The Guardian and La Vanguardia, which both pulled their content earlier this week.
Dagens Nyheter’s editor-in-chief, Peter Wolodarski, criticized Musk’s ownership, accusing the platform of aligning too closely with Trump’s political agenda. He said the platform’s transformation since Musk took over has increasingly catered to political ambitions, undermining its role as a neutral space for information.
The Guardian, with nearly 11 million followers on X, labeled the platform “toxic” due to the rise of far-right conspiracy theories and racism. La Vanguardia, meanwhile, chose to leave, prioritizing its editorial integrity over potential subscriber losses from not posting on X.
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Experts predict more media outlets will follow suit. Stephen Barnard, a media manipulation specialist, noted that the future of media and journalism on X will depend on Musk’s actions and how the platform handles misinformation.
While the departure of media outlets is significant, it remains unclear how it will affect their readerships. Some experts, like Barnard, suggest the impact on traffic will be limited, as X generates less traffic compared to other platforms.
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Meanwhile, Bluesky, a decentralized alternative to X, has seen a surge in subscribers, adding 1 million new users in just 24 hours. However, X still boasts hundreds of millions of users, with no direct competitor matching its reach at present.
Critics like Vincent Berthier from Reporters Without Borders argue that the issues with platforms like X highlight a broader failure of democratic regulation of social media.
