The British newspaper The Guardian has announced that it will no longer share content on the social media platform X, citing the toxic environment of the platform as the primary reason for its decision. The publication, which has over 80 official accounts and around 27 million followers, stated that it had been considering this move for some time and concluded that the negative effects of being on the platform outweigh the benefits.
“We wanted to inform our readers that we will no longer post content from any of ‘The Guardian’s’ official accounts on the X network,” the newspaper’s statement read.
The Guardian expressed growing concern over various issues on the platform, including the promotion of far-right conspiracy theories, racism, and troubling behavior surrounding major political events such as the U.S. presidential elections. They emphasized that the behavior of the platform, especially under the ownership of Elon Musk, has further influenced their decision to leave.
“This is something we’ve been considering for a long time, given the often disturbing content being promoted on the platform, such as right-wing conspiracy theories and racism,” the statement continued. “The U.S. presidential election campaign confirmed what we have long suspected—that X is a toxic media platform and its owner, Elon Musk, has used its influence to shape political discourse.”
The decision follows mounting criticism from groups fighting hate speech and European Union leaders regarding the platform’s content since Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of X in 2022.
Although The Guardian will no longer actively post on X, the platform will still be used for sharing links to their articles. Occasionally, posts from X will be embedded in their reporting to follow news trends. The paper’s journalists will continue using the platform for gathering information and news.
