UK-based The Guardian says it's leaving 'toxic media platform' X; Elon Musk calls it 'irrelevant'

The Guardian, a UK-based media organisation, has announced that it will no longer remain active on Elon Musk's microblogging platform X.

The Guardian has as many as 80 accounts on X with approximately 27 million followers.

In a statement, also posted on X, The Guardian said its decision comes after a careful evaluation of the platform's "growing negativity", including the promotion of disturbing content and far-right conspiracy theories.

"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 statement read.

It said that the US presidential election campaign exposed how X was a "toxic media platform" and that Musk has been able to use its influence to "shape political discourse".

"X users will still be able to share our articles, and the nature of live news reporting means we will still occasionally embed content from X within our article pages," it said.

The Guardian highlighted that this move aligns with its business model, which prioritises direct reader support over viral social media content.

"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 said, urging readers to visit the website directly and support its journalism.

They are a laboriously vile propaganda machine
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2024

In his response to the announcement, Musk posted on X that the Guardian was “irrelevant” and a “laboriously vile propaganda machine”.