Scores of universities and research institutions in Germany and Austria on Friday announced their intention to drop their presence on the online messaging platform X (formerly Twitter), saying its algorithms were opposed to a discourse based on scientific and democratic integrity.
The planned withdrawal in the academic sphere comes as the German government says it is also considering leaving the platform because it was having an “agitated and polarizing” effect on public political discussion.
On Thursday, the Gew unions, which constitute educators and teachers, and Verdi announced that they were their X presence, as did the Federal Court of Justice (BGH).
In a statement, the institutions, which include some of Germany’s most prestigious universities, said that X was steering a course that went against their principles.
“The withdrawal is a consequence of the incompatability of the platform’s current orientation with the fundamental values of the institutions involved: open-mindedness, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse,” a joint statement said.
It said the way X’s algorithm reinforced the propagation of right-wing populist content while restricting other views made any further use of the platform by the signees “untenable.”
The German government, in turn, said Friday that X and other social media platforms use algorithms that do not encourage “a quiet, objective and balanced speech, but that has a tendency to be agitated and polarizing. ”
A spokeswoman said the government was holding an ongoing discussion on whether to leave the platform but had decided to remain for the time being in view of the wide audience that could be reached via its services.
She denied that the government’s concerns about X were linked to owner Elon Musk’s involvement in German politics.
Musk has given voice to the extreme right of Germany for the Germany party (AFD) through its platform, which has raised considerations among several German politicians in the period prior to the February elections.
The comments come a day after Musk held talks on the platform with Alice Weidel, head of the AFD.
Musk has used X to call on German voters to choose the AfD at upcoming elections and to criticize several leading German politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
He has also taken an interest in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor government in the United Kingdom recently, calling for him to resign.
Critics also say the platform is failing to remove disinformation and hate speech.
The European Commission is recently examining whether Musk, a supporter of the elected president Donald Trump, respects the regulations in force in Europe with respect to social networks.
TJ/MSH (DPA, AFP)