European Federation of Journalists announces to leave X against "Trump-Musk Alliance", no post after Jan 20

In protest against the "Donald Trump and Elon Musk alliance", the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), largest group of European journalists, has announced to leave the social media platform X. 

Earlier, the 200-year-old British daily 'The Guardian' has also said goodbye to 'X' due to political use in favor of a particular political party. EFJ, along with other major European media outlets and journalist organizations, has strongly criticized X under Musk's ownership, saying that it has become a platform for misinformation and propaganda.

The European Federation of Journalists has said that it will not post anything on X from January 20, 2025. This is the day Donald Trump will take oath of office. EFJ includes more than 290,000 journalists from more than 40 countries across the European continent. It is not clear whether the journalists associated with EFJ will remain associated with this platform individually or will separate.

EFJ President Maja Sever criticized Elon Musk in a statement following the federation's announcement, saying "Musk's X has become the preferred medium for conspiracy theories, racism and misogynistic rhetoric. We cannot continue to participate in the social network feed of a man who proclaims the death of traditional media and journalists."

Musk, a vocal supporter of Trump, had openly criticized traditional media after Trump's election victory and declared it "dead". Musk's alliance with Trump has raised the concerns of EFJ and other journalist organizations.

X-odus. European Federation of Journalists representing 320,000 members officially will quit X (Twitter) on the day that Trump gets inaugurated.

They also claim that Elon Musk has transformed X into a “machine of disinformation and propaganda.”

What a whiny bunch of spineless… pic.twitter.com/Kz2L8N2tmp

— S.L. Kanthan (@Kanthan2030) November 29, 2024

EFJ President After the US elections, EFJ pointed to the threat to democracy and freedom of expression from the collaboration between Donald J. Trump, the president of the world's most powerful country, and Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who also owns the social network X and has been appointed to lead the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) when Donald J. Trump takes office as president on January 20, 2025. EFJ views Musk’s election to the leadership of DOGE as a dangerous partnership.

“X’s editorial evolution contradicts our humanist values ​​and commitment to freedom of the press,” said EFJ Secretary General Ricardo Gutiérrez. “The decision to suspend our @EFJEUROPE account seemed obvious to us, and we call on our colleagues and all organizations that defend freedom of expression to move to other platforms.”

Many institutions are abandoning X in response to its controversial policies and content moderation practices. Notable names criticizing the platform include the German Journalists Association (DJV), The Guardian, Dagens Nyheter, and Ouest-France. EFJ’s move away from X raises important questions about the role of social media platforms and the responsibilities of their owners.