Guardian quitting X, citing ‘disturbing content’

The Guardian announced Wednesday that it will no longer post its content under its official accounts on Elon Musk’s social media platform X.

“We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere,” the Guardian said in a statement.

The move comes just after Musk was named the co-head of President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” Musk has increasingly been involved in Trump’s campaign and concern is growing about what impact he will have on the administration.

The London-based outlet said the move from X was something it has been considering for a while, “given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.”

“The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse,” the outlet said.

Users will still be able to share the outlet's articles on the platform, and reporters will still occasionally embed X content into its articles. Reporters can still use the platform for news-gathering purposes.

“Social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help us reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work,” the Guardian said.

The outlet said its journalism is available to all by accessing its website and would prefer people support its work there instead.

The Guardian’s X account bio already notes that it's an archived page and directs users to its website and app.

The Hill has reached out to X for comment.