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Green MEPs turn their backs on Musk’s X

Green MEPs Thomas Waitz and Lena Schilling are leaving tech billionaire Elon Musk's online service X for its competitor Bluesky in protest.

They followed numerous other celebrities from politics, media and culture who have already left the X platform in protest against the supporter of US President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated today. The EU institutions are also increasingly posting on Bluesky, but mostly remain on X.

X now a "hate and disinformation catapult"
"Baba and fall ned. Elon Musk supports right-wing extremists and is turning his platform into a hate and disinformation sling. Enough is enough. You'll only find me on Blue Sky in the future," said delegation leader Waitz in his farewell post on X on Monday. "Oke byee! @elonmusk has turned this platform into a megaphone for disinformation and a playground for right-wing extremists. His interference in Europe is extremely dangerous for democracy and human rights. That's why I'm out of here - more on this in the blue sky," says fellow MEP Lena Schilling.

EU institutions are increasingly posting on Bluesky
The EU institutions are also increasingly posting on Bluesky: most members of the EU Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen, numerous MEPs and President Roberta Metsola as well as Council President Antonio Costa still have accounts on X. However, they now mostly post their messages on Bluesky. However, they now usually post their messages on both platforms at the same time. Bluesky sees itself as a "decentralized alternative" to X and has been publicly accessible since February 2024. It was started by a Twitter co-founder.

Since the purchase of X (formerly Twitter) by Tesla founder Elon Musk, there have been increasing accusations of anti-democracy and hate speech against the platform. Several EU proceedings are underway against X for alleged violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The law obliges online platforms to take action against disinformation, hate speech and propaganda, among other things. Shortly before Donald Trump's inauguration, the Commission tightened up its approach once again and is demanding additional information by mid-February.