The Guardian, the left-wing London-based newspaper whose editor-in-chief recently offered staff free mental health counseling to cope with President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, will no longer post on Elon Musk’s X in protest to “far-right conspiracy theories. and racism” on the social media platform.
The publication made the announcement in a Wednesday post explaining to readers that it will no longer post any of the paper’s editorial content from official X accounts.
“We feel that the benefits of being in X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources can be better used to promote our journalism elsewhere,” the newspaper wrote on Wednesday.
The Guardian said it had been reviewing the move “for a while” in light of the “often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism”.
Trump’s presidential campaign and re-election “only served to underscore what we’ve long considered: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape the political discourse.
X users will still be able to share links to Guardian content, and Guardian reporters will “occasionally” embed content from the platform within news.
But X “now plays a diminished role in promoting our work,” according to the paper.
The Guardian concluded its post by asking readers to donate to the publication, whose business model relies on voluntary financial support from the public.
The post has requested a comment from X.
After Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in last Tuesday’s election, Guardian editor-in-chief Katherine Viner asked staff in the publication’s UK and Australian offices to contact their US-based colleagues to “offer your support”. .
“I know the outcome has been very upsetting to many colleagues,” Viner wrote in an email obtained by The Post.
“If you want to talk about it, your manager and members of the leadership team are all available, as is the people team.”
Viner, who has been at the helm of the 203-year-old London publication since 2015, also sought to raise funds for Trump’s political comeback, which she called “an incredible, devastating moment in US history”.
She wrote an essay on Wednesday asking readers to donate in order to help him “stay up to four more years (Trump).
Musk, who bought what was then known as Twitter in late 2022 and renamed it X, has been an enthusiastic supporter of Trump during the campaign.
Trump on Tuesday rewarded Musk by naming him co-chairman of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency — a nongovernmental entity that will act as an advisory panel to the incoming administration.
Musk has vowed to use his business acumen and connections to the tech world to cut government red tape and cut costs.
Trump’s victory and Musk’s role in promoting his candidacy prompted internet users to migrate to rival apps like Bluesky and Threads.
#Leftwing #Guardian #wont #post #Elon #Musks #due #farright #conspiracy #theories #racism
Image Source : nypost.com