German defence ministry suspends posting on X platform
by AFP Staff Writers
Berlin (AFP) Jan 15, 2025

Germany's defence ministry said Wednesday it was suspending activities on social media platform X, which is accused of enabling the spread of disinformation under its owner Elon Musk.

The ministry said it "will no longer post proactively on the channel for the foreseeable future", justifying the move by saying that "the fact-based exchange of arguments is becoming increasingly difficult" on the platform.

The ministry is the latest of a host of public institutions in Germany to announce they will suspend activity on the platform formerly known as Twitter or leave it altogether.

Last week, more than 60 German universities said they were turning their backs on the site. Its "current direction is not compatible with the basic values of the institutions concerned -- openness to the world, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse", the grouping said.

The German defence ministry said that it "reserved the right to react on X in exceptional cases, such as to react to disinformation".

It said it would in the future use a channel on WhatsApp, owned by rival US tech company Meta, to proactively share information.

For the moment no other German ministry has said it would follow suit.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the chancellery was staying on X for now but admitted that it was a "difficult judgement".

The foreign ministry is also staying on the platform, spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said, while adding it was "continuously observing" the situation.

She said the ministry would "use other platforms more intensively, including Bluesky in both German and English".

The foreign ministry had reactivated its dormant account on X's rival on Tuesday with a message saying it "feels so great to be under bluer skies again".

Musk has stirred controversy by insulting German leaders and urging people to vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in next month's snap general election, a move which has been condemned across the political spectrum.

Last week X livestreamed a conversation between Musk and AfD leader Alice Weidel and two days later Musk shared a stream of the party's congress on his own X feed.

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