The Guardian will no longer be posting on X, still popularly referred to as Twitter, as it announced Wednesday morning that owner Elon Musk has turned it into a “toxic media platform” used to “shape political discourse.”
“We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter),” the outlet said in a statement posted Wednesday. “We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.”
The outlet noted the decision was “something we have been considering for a while,” due to “the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism,” and adding that Donald Trump’s appointment of Musk to his administration was the final straw.
“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 statement reads.
“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,” it added. “Our journalism is available and open to all on our website and we would prefer people to come to theguardian.com and support our work there.”
In a note to staff, editor in chief Kath Viner also instructed The Guardian staffers to, whenever possible, not embed X posts into stories.
The Guardian is certainly not the first major outlet to say goodbye to X, particularly following the 2024 election results.