French NGOs to quit X following Trump inauguration
Over 80 French NGOs and organisations say they will stop using the X app, previously known as Twitter, as of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20th. They feel Trump-allied X owner Elon Musk is a “danger” to free expression and democracy, report RFI.
Eighty-seven groups who advocate for human rights, press freedom and environmental issues expressed worries over the management of X in an open letter published by French newspaper Le Monde on January 14th.
Signatories include La Ligue des droits de l’Homme (the Human Rights League), non-profit organisation supporting asylum seekers France Terre d’asile, charity Emmaüs France and Greenpeace.
“By leaving X, we are well aware of depriving ourselves of a communication channel to promote our actions, our struggles… to challenge, to raise awareness,” they wrote.
“But this tool, which was a new space for freedom of expression in its beginnings, has become a serious danger to it and to the respect and dignity of people.”
X was criticised for an “absence of moderation and the configuration of algorithms” which “promote the proliferation of hateful content and the circulation of conspiracy and climate-sceptic theories” by the signatories.
Other advocacy groups were invited to “leave X [in as great a number] as possible” as the signatories said they would continue to communicate via other social networks including Bluesky and Mastodon.
Calls for the boycott of X have been growing in France for weeks, including from trade unions, a public hospital networks in Paris, the Caen war memorial and media outlets including Ouest France and Mediapart.
Germany’s defence ministry announced on January 15th that it was suspending activities on X, which it says of enables the spread of disinformation.
The ministry stated it “will no longer post proactively on the channel for the foreseeable future”, adding that “the fact-based exchange of arguments is becoming increasingly difficult” on X.
RFI, Le Monde
