Paris Mayor Quits Twitter: ‘It Became Weapon of Mass Destruction for Democracies’
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that she is leaving Twitter (now called X). She explained that in recent years, the social network has become "a weapon of mass destruction for our democracies". Her tweet reads:
"I have decided to leave Twitter. Far from being a revolutionary tool that initially provided access to information to the largest number of people, Twitter has become a weapon of mass destruction for our democracies in recent years... With these thousands of anonymous accounts and these troll farms, what is happening on Twitter is not democratic life, but its exact opposite," Hidalgo wrote.
According to her, manipulation and disinformation are spreading on the social network, and impulses of hatred, anti-Semitism and racism are growing. "The list of abuses is endless," the mayor concludes.
Without naming names, Hidalgo pointed to the responsibility of the platform's owner, Elon Musk, for the changes he has made since taking over the company in October 2022.
"What do the facts matter? This platform and its owner are deliberately acting to exacerbate tensions and conflicts," she declared.
According to the mayor of Paris, in the latest content transparency report published by Twitter itself, France was recognised as the winner of the Palme d'Or for violent and illegal comments in Europe. "This media has become a huge global sewer, and should we keep rushing down it?
Twitter (X) is a clear political project that wants to do away with democracy and its values in favour of powerful private interests. "I refuse to support this fateful plan," says Hidalgo.
"In March 2009, I was one of the first French women politicians to join this network, which today has more than 1,500,000 followers worldwide. Staying true to my convictions, today I am leaving Twitter. I will remain on other social networks where there is still a respectful exchange of views," Anne Hidalgo concluded.
Earlier, the European Commission's communications department asked all EU executive services to stop running ads on social network X, formerly Twitter, due to concerns about the spread of disinformation.
Earlier, the European Union adopted the Digital Services Act, which applies to the largest social networks. The new regulation requires large platforms to assess the risk of spreading false information, prevent the promotion of malicious content using algorithms, and subject their activities to audit.
With this in mind, Elon Musk suggested that the service would be blocked in Europe.