Several universities and research institutes in Germany and Austria on Friday banned online messaging platforms.
The planned return to academia comes as the German government says it is also considering abandoning the platform because it was having an “exacerbating and polarizing” effect on public political discussion.
On Thursday, the trade union GEW, which represents teachers and educators, and Verdi announced they were withdrawing their X appearance, as did the Federal Court of Justice (BGH).
X is ‘inconsistent’ with fundamental values
In a statement, the institutions, which include some of Germany’s most prestigious universities, said Ax was running a curriculum that was against their principles.
“The withdrawal is the result of the incompatibility of the current orientation of the platform with the fundamental values of the institutions involved: open-mindedness, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse,” a joint statement said.
It said the way in which
Berlin is considering departure
The German government, in its turn, said Friday that X and other social media platforms used algorithms that “do not promote calm, objective and balanced discourse, but rather one that incites and polarizes.”
A spokesperson said the government was discussing whether to leave the platform, but had decided to remain on the platform for now in view of the broad audience it reaches through its services.
He denied that the government’s concerns about Ax were linked to owner Elon Musk’s involvement in German politics.
Musk has given vocal support to the German far-right party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) through his platform, which has worried many German politicians ahead of the February elections.
loudspeaker for musk
The comments come a day after Musk spoke live on stage with AfD leader Alice Weidel.
Musk has used the
He has also recently taken a particular interest in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor government in Britain and has repeatedly called for him to resign.
Critics also say the platform is failing to remove disinformation and hate speech.
The European Commission is currently investigating whether Musk, a supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump, is following social media network rules implemented in Europe.
tj/msh (dpa, AFP)
