German anti-racism body quits X over 'rise in hate speech'
Germany's federal anti-discrimination agency (FADA) said Wednesday it was quitting X, formerly known as Twitter, because of "an enormous rise" in hate speech.
Hateful comments and disinformation had "increased particularly" since Elon Musk took over ownership of the platform last year, FADA wrote on X.
"Due to the enormous increase in trans and queer hostility, racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and other misanthropic content, in our opinion, X is no longer an acceptable environment" for a public body, it said.
Previously blocked far-right accounts have been reactivated and the option to buy verification ticks has allowed "troll factories" to increase their reach and spread propaganda, FADA added.
More than 160 rabbis, artists and leaders of Jewish organisations had recently called out the growing anti-Semitic discourse on X, FADA noted.
READ ALSO: Germany and France step up security at Jewish sites
The agency urged Germany's ministries and other public bodies to "ask themselves whether it is still acceptable to remain" on X.
They added that it is "increasingly questionable whether government and state authorities should conduct public relations on a platform that has become a disinformation network and whose owner shares or disseminates anti-Semitic, racist and right-wing populist content."
Their call was echoed by Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), who also complained about an increase in anti-Semitic, hate-inciting posts, especially since the Hamas militant group launched its surprise terrorist attack on Israel on Saturday morning.
He appealed to Musk and all platform operators to delete accounts that glorify terror, call for the destruction of Israel and incite violence against Jews. "
"Stop the spreading of barbaric videos and inflammatory misinformation," he said on Wednesday.
Wissing said this was not only a legal obligation under the European Union's Digital Service Act, but also an ethical responsibility. Facebook, X, Google and other social media platforms must crack down on hate speech under the new EU law, or face hefty fines.
READ ALSO: How German wants to crack down on online hate speech
The EU's digital chief Thierry Breton warned Musk in a letter on Tuesday that X was spreading "illegal content and disinformation" in relation to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Musk responded by asking Breton to "list the violations you allude to".
"Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent," Musk wrote on X.
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Hateful comments and disinformation had "increased particularly" since Elon Musk took over ownership of the platform last year, FADA wrote on X.
"Due to the enormous increase in trans and queer hostility, racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and other misanthropic content, in our opinion, X is no longer an acceptable environment" for a public body, it said.
Previously blocked far-right accounts have been reactivated and the option to buy verification ticks has allowed "troll factories" to increase their reach and spread propaganda, FADA added.
More than 160 rabbis, artists and leaders of Jewish organisations had recently called out the growing anti-Semitic discourse on X, FADA noted.
READ ALSO: Germany and France step up security at Jewish sites
The agency urged Germany's ministries and other public bodies to "ask themselves whether it is still acceptable to remain" on X.
They added that it is "increasingly questionable whether government and state authorities should conduct public relations on a platform that has become a disinformation network and whose owner shares or disseminates anti-Semitic, racist and right-wing populist content."
Their call was echoed by Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), who also complained about an increase in anti-Semitic, hate-inciting posts, especially since the Hamas militant group launched its surprise terrorist attack on Israel on Saturday morning.
He appealed to Musk and all platform operators to delete accounts that glorify terror, call for the destruction of Israel and incite violence against Jews. "
"Stop the spreading of barbaric videos and inflammatory misinformation," he said on Wednesday.
Wissing said this was not only a legal obligation under the European Union's Digital Service Act, but also an ethical responsibility. Facebook, X, Google and other social media platforms must crack down on hate speech under the new EU law, or face hefty fines.
READ ALSO: How German wants to crack down on online hate speech
The EU's digital chief Thierry Breton warned Musk in a letter on Tuesday that X was spreading "illegal content and disinformation" in relation to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Musk responded by asking Breton to "list the violations you allude to".
"Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent," Musk wrote on X.
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