After the Guardian in the UK and The Vanguard In Spain, it is the third European newspaper to abandon the social network bought by Elon Musk in 2022 these days: Western France announced on Tuesday, November 19, that it would suspend its publications on X, while continuing to integrate publications from the platform into its articles.
According to a statement from the main French regional press, this decision was made due to the recent appointment of Elon Musk in the Trump administration, but also to the modification of the “blue pills” concession. The latter certified, before the acquisition by Elon Musk, the authenticity of an account. Western France also invokes the way in which “the network has changed the blocking conditions, thus harming user security”, also regretting that it contributes “to the poisoning of public debate, which is nevertheless vital for democracy”.
“For these reasons, and in defense of the values of our media, together with democracy, calm debate and respect for all, the management and the editor-in-chief have collectively decided to suspend publications about X”explains the press release of Western Franceadding that he had already reduced, since October 2023, the number of his publications on this social network where he has 688,000 subscribers.
HE Guardian (10.8 million subscribers on public spending in the United States. The Spanish newspaper The Vanguard1.3 million subscribers on X, did the same the next day. Other titles, such as Sveriges Radio, Swedish public radio or the American media NPR and PBS, had chosen to distance themselves from the platform and stop publishing there from 2023.
