German antidiscrimination body ditches X

Germany’s Antidiscrimination Agency has announced it will no longer maintain a presence on X, the platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

In a series of posts published on X, on Wednesday, the agency said it could no longer justify staying on the platform amid “the enormous increase in trans and queer hostility, racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and other misanthropic content,” adding “in our opinion, X is no longer an acceptable environment for the profile of a public body.”

The federal agency also took a swing at Musk, saying hate speech and disinformation on the platform increased particularly after “the change in ownership.” Musk completed his purchase of X, then called Twitter, almost a year ago.

The agency said that right-wing extremist accounts that were previously blocked have been reactivated on the platform. It also claimed in its posts on X that so-called troll factories that spread pro-Russian propaganda have apparently purchased verification checkmarks to increase their reach and influence debates.

“Since then, it has hardly been possible to distinguish between reputable and non-reputable sources,” the agency says.

In a statement, the agency’s boss Ferda Ataman said that “X is no longer a sustainable environment for a public body,” and called on other ministries and state agencies to consider whether their official accounts should remain on a platform “whose owner spreads anti-Semitic, racist and populist content.”

The move comes as pressure mounts on Musk to clean up the platform, particularly in the wake of graphic images and disinformation linked to Hamas’ attack Israel spreading on X.

On Tuesday, Thierry Breton, the European commissioner who oversees the bloc’s Digital Services Act, wrote to Musk to warn him of his obligations under the EU’s content rules. Breton gave Musk 24 hours to respond to his requests to clean up the platform.