Why Journalists and Media Outlets Are Leaving X (Twitter)

Departures Increase Following the 2024 US Election

February 13, 2025

Journalists and media outlets are leaving X, formerly known as Twitter, in large numbers. They cite shifting moderation policies, increased hate speech and concerns about misinformation as primary reasons for their departure. 

The number of departures from the microblogging platform increased after the 2024 U.S. election that brought Donald Trump back to the White House, according to a recent op-ed published by the International Journalists’ Network, also known as IJNET. It noted that several prominent organisations, including NPR in the U.S., Spain’s La Vanguardia and The Guardian in the U.K., have left X.

In January 2025, the editor-in-chief of Le Monde announced that the French newspapers was abandoning X, citing “mixture of ideology and commerce,” reported Politico.

In December 2024, the European Federation of Journalists, representing about 300,000 journalists globally, departed from X, according to The Standard.

The Guardian made its decision in November 2024, explaining that widespread far right conspiracy content and bigoted posts, combined with concerns over Musk’s sway on political debate, prompted its exit, notes the author, Phineas Hogan, IJNet’s Disarming Disinformation intern and a reporter for Cronkite News, an Arizona PBS affiliate station.

Also in November, Sweden’s left-liberal newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) stopped publishing its articles on X. “Since Elon Musk took over, the platform has increasingly merged with his and Donald Trump’s political ambitions,” AFP quoted editor-in-chief Peter Wolodarski as saying at the time.

In February 2024, X removed some accounts and posts at the request of the Indian government. They were connected to ongoing farmer protests near a Delhi border demanding better prices for their crops, Reuters reported at the time.

Although Indian media outlets and journalists have expressed concerns about misinformation on X, none are known to have left the platform in protest.

Dissatisfaction about the platform’s content moderation has reportedly been growing in many parts of the world due to X’s ability—or inability—to handle hateful rhetoric, unverified claims and partisan messaging, explains the IJNET author. The sentiments can be traced back to changes that began after Musk took over the platform in October 2022, when the Trust and Safety Council was dissolved and many workers responsible for combating disinformation were laid off.

X was once seen as a critical space for public discourse. One director of a digital literacy initiative at the Poynter Institute described it as a major channel for quickly distributing stories. But those advantages have diminished, according to journalists who refer to declining content quality, reduced reach for news items and Musk’s visible support of specific political figures.

Users have also mentioned offensive material and inflammatory remarks.

While critics question the viability of X for daily reporting, the platform still draws hundreds of millions of visitors.

Criticism of Twitter existed before Musk took over, noted AFP, explaining that people thought the platform was designed to encourage heated debates and quick bursts of anger. It was also believed to mostly represent the views of wealthier people and those who are very active in pushing for changes.

Some reporters continue to use the platform, as it can still yield significant engagement. However, some outlets that left X report no major reduction in web traffic.

Alternatives such as Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads have been trying to attract new users who no longer find X appealing.

Bluesky, initiated by a Twitter co-founder, resembles early Twitter in layout and allows for personalised feeds and extra tools designed to discourage hostile behaviour. That platform’s user numbers reportedly rose after the 2024 election, though they have not come close to the reach of X.