The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has decided it will no longer post content on Elon Muskβs social media platform, X, from 20 January 2025, when Donald J. Trump will officially become the 47th President of the United States.
Like many European media outlets (The Guardian, Dagens Nyheter, La Vanguardia, Ouest-France, Sud-Ouest, etc.) and journalistsβ organisations, such as the German Journalistsβ Association (DJV) , the EFJ considers that it can no longer ethically participate in a social network that its owner has transformed into a machine of disinformation and propaganda.
In the aftermath of the American elections, the EFJ noted the threat to democracy and freedom of expression posed by the collusion between the president of the most powerful country in the world, Donald J. Trump, and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, who is also the owner of the social network X and who has been picked to lead a new βDepartment of Government Efficiencyβ (Doge) when Donald J. Trump takes charge as president on 20 January 2025.
Just after Trumpβs election, Elon Musk, who has been active in American politics as a vocal and financial supporter of Donald J. Trump, said that legacy media is dead, claiming that βmost legacy media lied relentlessly to the publicβ.
βWe cannot continue to participate in feeding the social network of a man who proclaims the death of the media and therefore of journalists,β said EFJ President Maja Sever. βThe social media site X has become the preferred vector for conspiracy theories, racism, far-right ideas and misogynistic rhetoric. X is a platform that no longer serves the public interest at all, but the particular ideological and financial interests of its owner and his political allies.β
βThe editorial evolution of X, since its acquisition by Elon Musk, is simply in contradiction with our humanist values, our commitment to press freedom and media pluralism, and our fight against all forms of hatred and discrimination.
X-odus: As of 20 January 2025, we have decided to stop publishing content on Elon Musk's platform X. We can no longer ethically participate in a social network that its owner has transformed into a machine of disinformation and propaganda. πhttps://t.co/NTwnC63vhs
— EFJ (@efjeurope) November 26, 2024
