Because of incitement and a lack of transparency
Numerous universities are leaving Platform X
Updated on January 11, 2025 – 12:54 p.mReading time: 3 min.
For fact-based communication, against anti-democratic forces: universities are saying goodbye to Musk’s Platform X. Companies are also reacting.
Alienation from a communication channel that was once actively used: A whole number of universities in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland are turning their backs on Platform X, formerly Twitter. They are not alone, unions are also saying goodbye to this channel, as are companies, and are pointing out, among other things, misinformation and hate comments on X.
In a joint statement from more than 60 German-speaking universities and research institutions on the withdrawal of
The reason for the move was the “lack of compatibility of the current orientation of the platform with the fundamental values of the institutions involved: cosmopolitanism, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse.” The institutions wanted to underline their commitment to fact-based communication and against anti-democratic forces.
The Chancellor of Trier University, Ulrike Graßnick, said that the University of Trier is a place of free science and stands for democratic discourse. “However, on the social media platform
The last post from the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) went online on X on March 24th last year, with the statement: “We are no longer active here”.
The Verdi union and the Education and Science teachers’ union have also decided to say goodbye to X. In a statement on Thursday, they criticized the platform as a “forum for the spread of right-wing extremist positions, hatred and incitement, hostility to democracy and disinformation.”
It is also becoming increasingly obvious that the platform’s algorithms give preferential treatment to anti-democratic narratives. According to Verdi and GEW, the specific reason for the move at this time was the live conversation between the X owner and billionaire Elon Musk and the AfD’s top candidate for the federal election, Alice Weidel.
Before Christmas, the second division soccer team 1. FC Kaiserslautern said goodbye to The FCK venue is called Betze, it is short for Betzenberg, which is what today’s Fritz Walter Stadium used to be called.
The world’s largest chemical company BASF, based in Ludwigshafen, says it has closed some accounts on X, including the German-language account in July last year. Further accounts for certain areas would still be closed. A spokeswoman said when asked that BASF stopped advertising on the platform some time ago.
“X is increasingly characterized by misinformation and hate comments,” BASF continued. “This is not an environment in which we as a company want to operate. At the same time, we want to be able to respond to misinformation about BASF with corrections if necessary.” It was therefore decided to continue at least the main channel, but with significantly reduced active communication.
The pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim also severely restricted or even stopped its activities on X a long time ago. The platform will only be used for special and targeted press releases.
The Saarland Chamber of Industry and Commerce also stated that it would set its channel to X. The platform “now stands for an algorithmic prioritization of problematic content and a massive restriction of organic reach,” explained Managing Director Frank Thomé. The other networks on which the IHK is present will be closely monitored and, if necessary, consequences will be drawn.