The Guardian Has Quit X

The Guardian, a British news publisher, has announced it will cease using official editorial accounts on the X platform, citing that the platform’s drawbacks now outweigh its benefits.

The Guardian, with over 10 million followers on X, stated that users can still share its articles on the platform and that it may occasionally link to X content in its articles. However, it has chosen to focus on promoting its journalism elsewhere.

The Guardian says it has been considering this decision for a while. However, in the run-up to the American election, it finally concluded that “X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.”

It believes that social media can support news organizations, in particular, help them reach greater audiences. But The Guardian says it is now not dependent on “social media giants’ algorithms” and prefers to make its content available to users directly on its website.

In early September, The Guardian wrote a piece directly calling out X for its changes since Elon Musk bought it in 2022 when it was Twitter. It first describes how the offer of a paid identity verification led to diminished trust in accounts.

Then, when Twitter offered a revenue-sharing plan with users, there was an increase in posts on controversial and extreme topics. Controversy drives engagement, which in turn increases users’ revenue share amounts. Some users are earning thousands of dollars a month via their hateful content.

Elon Musk, who claims he supports free speech on his platform, was short and to the point in his response to The Guardian, posting on X, “They are irrelevant.”

In addition to The Guardian, former CNN anchor Don Lemon also announced that he was leaving the platform, saying, “I once believed it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose.”