MADRID: Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia on Thursday (Nov 14) announced it would cease publishing its reports on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, which it said had become a “disinformation network”.
The decision by the Barcelona-based daily comes a day after Britain’s The Guardian also said it would quit promoting its journalism on X, formerly Twitter, citing “often disturbing content” on the site.
La Vanguardia said X had become “an echo chamber” full of “conspiracy theories and disinformation” that would not have had such an impact with “effective and reasonable moderation”.
Musk has gutted trust and safety teams, scaled back content moderation efforts and restored known conspiracy theorists to the platform since purchasing it for US$44 billion in 2022.
“Hatred of ethnic minorities, misogyny and racism” were among the viral posts “that violate human rights” but captured users’ attention and more money through advertising, the newspaper added.
La Vanguardia also denounced the growth of bots spreading disinformation, including India-based accounts commenting on Spain’s devastating October floods that have killed 223 people.
The Catalan daily said it would continue following people, businesses and institutions on X to inform readers of messages and debates.
Its journalists will also be free to keep using it “within the guidelines of restraint and respect for human rights and freedom of expression” required of them in all settings.
Musk has consistently courted controversy with his use of X, particularly during the recent United States presidential election where he endorsed victorious Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Musk used his personal account boasting nearly 205 million followers to sway voters in favour of Trump, but his incendiary and misleading posts were criticised for cranking up the political temperature.
