Quits X

Vast worldwide sewer’: Paris mayor quits X with swipe at Elon Musk

‘This platform and its owner act deliberately to exacerbate tensions and conflicts,’ Anne Hidalgo says.

BY NICOLAS CAMUT

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Monday announced she would leave X, formerly Twitter, because the social media platform has become a "weapon of mass destruction of our democracies" in recent years.

Without naming him, Hidalgo pointed to Elon Musk's responsibility for changes made to the site since he took over the company in October 2022.

"This platform and its owner act deliberately to exacerbate tensions and conflicts," Hildago said in a statement posted on X, adding it had become a "vast worldwide sewer."

"It's a clear political project which wants to do without democracy and its values in favor of powerful private interests," the socialist mayor said, adding: "I refuse to endorse this fateful scheme."

Hidalgo is the first high-profile French politician to announce they are quitting the platform.

X has faced criticism over the spread of disinformation since Musk bought the company, which culminated in recent weeks related to content about the Israel-Hamas war.

These concerns prompted the European Commission to say it would "temporarily suspend advertising on this platform until further notice," in an internal note obtained by POLITICO earlier this month.