[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”22px|||||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”10px|||||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The new year can bring a variety of good resolutions: Maintain confidence. Keep a clear head. Consume less and better media. And: To hell with X. Because the social network doesn\u2019t fulfil essential standards for freedom of speech.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yet, according to Elon Musk, this is exactly what the platform was supposed to stand for since he bought it: the freedom to finally say anything. Unfortunately this bullshit from the outset, as the paid \u2018blue tick\u2019 quickly proved, that stood for purchased reach. Instead, the platform became more and more blatantly Musk\u2019s personal tool of political manipulation*, a powerful algorithmic opinion machine. It\u2019s becoming increasingly clear that the world has a problem \u2014 when the richest business boss in the world also holds a central US government office and, in addition, has such a powerful propaganda channel at his personal disposal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, what\u2019s it all about? X, formerly Twitter, the favorite network of the opinionated man over 50, is currently still visited by 7% of Germans at least once a week. Before the Twitter takeover, the figure was 10%. However, as a kind of customary right from Twitter times, it has a unique position when it comes to politically relevant statements, quotes and press presence. Not on Bluesky (2 %), Threads (4 %) or even Instagram (38 % in Germany), but on X, political bombshells are being dropped, terms are being coined and the struggle for the dominant narration takes place. Musk himself is both an actor and an unfair referee in this game. He is known for getting his executives out of bed at 3 a.m. because his own post got less likes than that of Joe Biden. And in general, an algorithmic imbalance soon became apparent at X, often hand tailored and by personal commission of Elon Musk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The master himself fiddles with the algorithm. A man who increasingly embraces conspiracy myths and fascist fairy tales. Who sometimes just writes weird things, when in the mood and intoxicated with power. E.g., just recently: \u201cChancellor Oaf Schitz or whatever his name is will lose\u201c. Unthinkable for normal managers, unspeakable for normal politicians and unacceptable for normal reasonable people. There is just nothing normal about Musk and that\u2019s precisely what fascinates his fans. They see him as Emperor Nero, a jack-of-all-trades who loves taking risks, who succeeds at a lot and who on the other hand is incredibly easy to manipulate. He supports the \u201cAfD\u201d (a German populist and partly extremist right wing party) by hearsay and without a single valid argument, but with complete conviction. He contradicts his own statements. You can watch him thinking and follow the process of his personal radicalization in detail. He is vain, embarrassing and dangerous \u2014 but who will tell him?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The opposite of a tactical survivalist who muddles along without any strategic foresight is the visionary who gets stuck in the concrete. Once upon a time, there was a tech billionaire who made cars \u2014 100 years ago: His name was Henry Ford. His assembly lines and the mass spread of combustion engines had a profound impact on our world. What\u2019s less well known is that his book \u201dThe International Jew\u201d had a significant influence on the formation of the German nazi party NSDAP. As a member of the \u201cAmerica First Committee\u201d, Ford tried to prevent the USA from entering the Second World War in 1940\/41, without which fascism would probably have triumphed in Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Henry Ford was an unconventional and strategic thinker and ready to take great risks. His failure with the artificial industrial city \u201cFordlandia\u201d in Brazil is legend, but this has not affected Ford being one of the top 10 car manufacturers today. Leaders such as Ford, Musk, Trump or Putin fascinate those around them, but they constantly send others to the slaughter to iron out their misjudgements. Reality seems to roll off their backs without consequence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bringing Twitter under his control was \u2014 it has to be said \u2014 a strategic master stroke by Musk. Whether we let him get away with the self-satisfied clumsiness of this nice try<\/em> or even reward it is up to us. But even if his plans fail at one point or another, Musk is learning fast and becoming more and more dangerous. In addition to X, he not only owns a technologically leading motor company, but also companies that work with AI or neural machine-human interfaces, unrivaled cheap access to space and a uniquely dense satellite network that connects crisis areas to the internet. And whenever he thinks he is doing the right thing, he will occasionally switch off the internet, as seen in Ukraine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The big picture becomes recognisable: influencing opinions, selling lies as half-truths, removing obstacles, making a lot of money become even much more money. And then: Feeling himself being the centre of the world, an erratic universal genius, a cool dressed godfather judging of what is good, true and beautiful. The question is whether we let it come to that, or whether we boycott it. Whether we go on strike. And whether a critical mass of Americans will wake up. Who, even as convinced Republicans, have not legitimized Trump and Musk to be a duo of absolutist monarchs for their lifetime.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We have seen all of this emerge in recent years, and yet the impulse to go somewhere else, to leave X, was never strong enough for many. Biased by the number of their followers, which is hard to build up elsewhere, they stayed and waited. It would have been high time and a duty for decision-makers to use other networks when they had something important to say, and not just from the point of view of market concentration. But now at the latest, with the renewed Trump election and the appointment of Elon Musk as his rabble-rouser for budget cuts, it should be clear that X is not a neutral or even acceptable platform. Even Twitter in it\u2019s time had an algorithmic tendency towards anger and outrage. But today, X is merely a hysteria machine that occupies, incites and polarizes minds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So if you haven\u2019t yet looked around for alternatives, you should seize the opportunity and meet your friends somewhere better \u2014 most likely on BlueSky, Mastodon or elsewhere. Before deleting your profile, you should make a note of particularly valued handles. Here at the EFF<\/a> is a practical proposal on how to do it. And maybe it\u2019s not even necessary to delete your account. A lot can be gained if you simply ignore it or visit it much less frequently than other networks. Not commenting on topics on X. Quote and disseminate important statements elsewhere.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stepping out of X \u2014 or keeping your distance from it \u2014 has a whole range of beneficial effects:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n My advice, summarised in a hashtag: #leaveXtoday<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s all have a good 2025!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Since I wrote this post a week ago, there have been opinions and reports every day that could confirm my tendency. Today came the news that yet another tech mogul seems to be siding with Trump’s scary course: Mark Zuckerberg. Instead of positioning themselves against X as a quality platform, Facebook and Instagram will now also largely stop moderating in the US and rely on \u2018user-based fact checks\u2019. Some people may buy this as \u201cfreedom of speech\u201d. But in reality, burying relevant opinions under a mountain of lies and algorithmically restrict their reach when they are just not provocative enough, has nothing to do with \u201cfreedom of speech\u201d.<\/p>\n So we can ask ourselves: who are the wrongdoers which platforms should we not all boycott? But we are not the ghost drivers. Those who hand over their opinions and their desire for recognition to platforms owned by super-rich eccentrics will end up feeling sold out.<\/p>\n I understand that there are strategic considerations not to leave these platforms to agitators and liars. But it\u2019s a tough job. I did it for four years and I\u2019m still trying elsewhere. Respect to all those who want to swim against this current. Nevertheless, publishing, announcing and commenting are better done elsewhere.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”30px||||false|false” border_color_top=”#ABBEC6″ border_width_top=”2px” custom_padding=”30px||||false|false”]<\/p>\n * some links to prove my point:<\/p>\n https:\/\/english.elpais.com\/international\/2023-05-24\/under-elon-musk-twitter-has-approved-83-of-censorship-requests-by-authoritarian-governments.html<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/danidiplacido\/2025\/01\/16\/elon-musk-vs-asmongold-the-gaming-feud-explained\/<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2024\/jan\/15\/elon-musk-hypocrite-free-speech<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2024\/12\/27\/musk-x-loomer-h1b-maga-verification<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other links in German:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.schieb.de\/blocktheblue-widerstand-gegen-blaue-haken-auf-twitter<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.faz.net\/aktuell\/feuilleton\/medien\/ist-es-zeit-x-zu-verlassen-musk-manipuliert-moeglicherweise-per-algorithmus-110121390.html<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.ard-media.de\/fileadmin\/user_upload\/media-perspektiven\/pdf\/2024\/MP_28_2024_ARD_ZDF-Medienstudie_2024._Zahl_der_Social-Media-Nutzenden_steigt_auf_60_Prozent.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n https:\/\/www.spiegel.de\/netzwelt\/netzpolitik\/twitter-wie-elon-musk-informationen-ueber-den-ukrainekrieg-unterdrueckt-kolumne-a-3cafbf63-7b68-4484-b45e-027f4ac10be7<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n
Elon Musk, a tragic hero? Hopefully.<\/h4>\n
Time to quit this cult<\/h4>\n
See what\u2019s positive<\/h4>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
.<\/mark><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n
.<\/mark><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n
.<\/mark><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n
.<\/mark><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n
.<\/mark><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n
\nEpilog<\/h3>\n