The German left is running away from X. Musk's scandalous photo and allegations of disinformation

The three main left-wing parties in Germany – SPD, the Greens and the Left – announced on Monday that they were leaving the X platform. They cited the growing wave of disinformation on the website owned by billionaire Elon Musk as the reason.

SPD, the Greens and the Left said in messages published on social media that “X has plunged into chaos in recent years.”

“Political debates are based on dialogue and reaching and informing people,” we read on the Facebook account of the SPD, which co-founds the German government. “We no longer want to support a platform like X that promotes right-wing populist content, hate speech and disinformation,” it added.

The post was accompanied by a photo of Musk standing at the podium, raising his right hand in a gesture resembling a Nazi salute.

During a speech delivered at a rally in Washington on January 20, 2025, the day Donald Trump was sworn in as US president, he thanked the Americans for allowing Trump to return to the White House, then slapped his left chest twice with his right hand and straightened his arm with an open hand.

The hashtag #WirVerlassenX (#WeLeaveX), used by all three parties, was among the most popular in Germany on Monday.

Since Musk's takeover of X (then Twitter) in 2022, many politicians, celebrities and companies have stopped using the website, and the number of complaints about changes in the functioning of the platform under his leadership, including disinformation and hate speech, has also increased. Musk denies the allegations, arguing that he defends freedom of speech and limits censorship.

In Germany, many leading politicians and officials, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, regularly publish on X. One of the goals of the left-wing parties' initiative is to trigger a wave of departures from the website also among the most important German decision-makers.

From Berlin Mateusz Obremski (PAP)

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