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The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has decided it will no longer post content on Elon Musk’s 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 journalists’ organisations, such as the German Journalists’ 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 “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge) when Donald J. Trump takes charge as president on 20 January 2025.
Just after Trump’s 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 “most legacy media lied relentlessly to the public”.
“We cannot continue to participate in feeding the social network of a man who proclaims the death of the media and therefore of journalists,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “The 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.”
“The 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. The decision to suspend our @EFJEUROPE account seemed obvious to us and we invite our affiliates and all organisations that defend freedom of expression to migrate to other platforms,” added EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez.
X-odus: @EFJEUROPE account will be frozen from 20 January 2025
