The Guardian stops posting on 'toxic platform' X

Says benefits of being on platform now outweighed by its negatives

LONDON:

Britain's The Guardian newspaper announced on 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".

"We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives," the left-leaning newspaper, which has nearly 11 million followers on X, said 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.

"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The paper's main X handle was still accessible Wednesday but a message on it advised "this account has been archived" while redirecting visitors to its website.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 organisations and help us to reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work," The Guardian added.

Musk purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022 and has consistently courted controversy with his use of the platform, particularly during the recent US presidential election.