Academics abandoning X en masse, as it’s “incompatible” with fundamental values

While X becomes increasingly more political and radical, academia is cutting ties with Elon Musk’s polarizing algorithms.

More than 60 universities and research centers across Germany and Austria are leaving X, which is owned by the billionaire Elon Musk.

The GEW union, representing educators and teachers, and Germany’s second-largest trade union, Verdi, also announced they were deleting their X accounts.

In a joint statement, the academics said that the direction X has taken was against their values. The platform has tweaked the algorithm to endorse right-wing populist content while suppressing other thoughts.

"The withdrawal is a consequence of the incompatibility of the platform's current orientation with the fundamental values of the institutions involved: open-mindedness, scientific integrity, transparency, and democratic discourse," the academics wrote.

The decision comes after the German government also expressed its concern regarding the platform’s algorithm, calling it "agitated” and “polarizing the public political discussion.” Reportedly, the government was discussing whether to leave the platform, while the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has already announced leaving it.

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia have observed a change in the X algorithm since mid-July 2024. They claim it systematically boosts Republican-leaning accounts, a shift that coincided with Elon Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump for US president.

Musk is flirting with Europe’s far-right

Elon Musk has openly expressed support for Germany’s far-right party, Alternative for Deutschland (AfD). He has held live discussions on X with the party’s leader, Alice Weidel, and has also used the platform to endorse the AfD, urging German voters to support the party.

Although the government’s comments were made a day later, representatives have denied that their concerns about X are related to the event.

Musk has had good relations with far-right parties in Europe. For example, the current Italian government has expressed support for a €1.5 billion contract to adopt Elon Musk’s Starlink technology for governmental use.

Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, called Musk a “leading figure” in global innovation. The adoption of Starlink goes against the continent’s space strategy to use European-made satellite networks, which all member states, including Italy, have already paid for.

“Boomer radicalization” on Meta platforms

Since Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X and loosened content moderation, the platform has spiraled into chaos.

Many fear that Facebook and other Meta platforms might become saturated with right-wing content following Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end the fact-checking program and introduce community notes instead.

According to the Guardian, this might lead to boomer radicalization, as content that hasn’t been fact-checked is especially dangerous for middle-aged users, who allegedly have more trouble distinguishing the truth from extremist content than the younger generation.

Facebook algorithms often amplify harmful ideas and extreme content, while Facebook groups can act as echo chambers, where older users find validation for their views, even extreme ones.

Events like Brexit, Trump’s 2016 victory, and the COVID-19 pandemic have catalyzed engagement with right-wing politics on social media.