Paris mayor quits X, calls it ‘global sewer’
Anne Hidalgo stated that the platform and its owner are acting deliberately to exacerbate tensions and conflicts
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced her intention to leave X, formerly known as Twitter, by calling the micro-blogging site “An impressive tool to destroy our democracies.”
In a lengthy statement posted on X, the socialist mayor told her 1.5 million followers that she holds Elon Musk accountable for the changes he has made since taking over the company in October last year, albeit without naming him directly.
She continued saying that “Controversy, rumours, and crude manipulation.” They govern public debate “Driven by the Twitter algorithm, where the only thing that matters is the number of ‘likes’.” In addition to that “The facts are irrelevant.”
Naming the platform a “A clear political project” Hidalgo accused her landlord of acting out “Intentionally exacerbating tensions and conflicts” Saying it has become “The world’s vast sewers.”
X has been repeatedly criticized for the changes Musk has made to the platform from the mainstream media and the political left. According to Twitter filings, under the previous administration, the microblogging site helped prevent the publication of a shocking report alleging influence peddling by Joe Biden’s family, just three weeks before he was elected president. When Musk arrived, he fired several former Twitter employees, and the platform, which was renamed X, has since been accused of poor content moderation and failing to remove hate speech and misinformation.
The situation worsened after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. Earlier, the European Commission suspended advertising on X due to a significant rise in misinformation and hate speech on the social media platform. Spokesman Johannes Bahrke said the committee had done so “Services advise to refrain from advertising at this stage.” The decision came after US non-profit Media Matters alleged that X had placed ads for major brands such as Apple, IBM and Oracle next to pro-Nazi content. The report prompted tech giant IBM to halt all advertising on X.
IBM’s move also came after Musk publicly endorsed the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory in a post on X earlier in the week. On November 15, the social media mogul approved a post on X saying that Jewish people hold a “Dialectical hatred” Of white people, sparking a new round of criticism that he promotes anti-Semitic views. The billionaire responded to one user’s post with the following: “You told the actual truth.”
On Monday, in an apparent attempt to repair the damage, Elon Musk toured the site of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, and declared his commitment to doing whatever is necessary to stop the spread of hate. Early Monday, Musk posted on X: “Actions speak louder than words.”
