Friday, November 15, 2024

Guardian stops posting on X, alleges it is now a toxic media platform and Elon Musk is using it to shape political discourse

UK-based left-wing media house The Guardian has announced that it will stop posting on social media site 𝕏 (formerly Twitter). As per a statement issued by the media house, “benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.”

The Guardian made it clear that they are taking this step due to the political affiliation of Elon Musk, the new owner of 𝕏. It claims that after the change of ownership, the micro-blogging site now promotes or distributes disturbing content, “including far-right conspiracy theories and racism”.

The statement stated, “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 publication said that users will be able to share its articles on the platform, and it will occasionally embed content from 𝕏 within their article pages. Similarly, its journalists will carry on using the site for news-gathering purposes.

Guardian claims that while social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help them to reach new audiences, 𝕏 now plays a diminished role in promoting their work.