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The UK’s Guardian newspaper has announced it will no longer post from its official accounts on X, citing concerns over how owner Elon Musk is using it to shape political discourse as well as the proliferation of “disturbing content” on social media platform since he took control.
The newspaper announced the move on Wednesday, just hours after Donald Trump revealed he had asked Musk to lead his new Department of Government Efficiency, which will be tasked with slashing government bureaucracy and regulations.
“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). 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,” read the Guardian statement.
“This is something we have been considering for a while given the often-disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism,” it continued.
“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 newspaper said that X users will still be able to share its article on X, and that some of its live news reporting would occasionally embed content from X within article pages. It added that its reporters would also still be authorized to use to the site for news-gathering purposes.
“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. 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,” the statement added.
Founded in Manchester in 1821 and based in London since the 1960s, the Guardian has built its reputation on upholding journalistic freedom and liberal values, principles that are written into its constitution.
In recent years, the newspaper – which joined X when it was still known as Twitter in November 2009 – has fully embraced the digital age to become a successful online news site, while maintaining a print readership.
According to its own data, its print readership currently stands at a monthly 3.1 million, while the website generates 81 million unique visitors globally per month, with 22.4 million unique visitors a month in the UK.
In its statement, the Guardian said its business model was such that it allowed the publication to break away from X.
“We can do this because our business model does not rely on viral content tailored to the whims of the social media giants’ algorithms – instead we’re funded directly by our readers,” it said.
