#X - 💪 Independent: “A Welsh police force has completely quit X, claiming the social media site is “no longer consistent” with its values.

Police forces across the country have been reducing their usage of the platform under Elon Musk’s tenure after it was used to spread misinformation sparking the far-right riots this summer.”

#Twitter #ElonMusk #disinformation #rightwing
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home…

Welsh police force quits Elon Musk’s X over clash in ‘values’

Critics claim Elon Musk has allowed disinformation to spread on X since his takeover of the platform in 2022

^{Athena Stavrou (The Independent)}

But:

"In fact, while Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina all declared emergencies and requested and received federal approval of those declarations before the hurricane hit, [Tennessee] Governor Lee did not."

#Republicans #hurricane #Helene #Tennessee #lies #disinformation
/2

Heather Cox Richardson reports that late Friday, Tennessee House Republican Caucus chair Jeremy Faison posted a statement online that President Biden had "finally" approved emergency funding for Tennessee after Helene hit. He made it seem that Biden had delayed approving emergency funding.

#Republicans #hurricane #Helene #Tennessee #lies #disinformation
/1

heathercoxrichardson.substack.…

September 29, 2024

Late Friday night, Tennessee House Republican Caucus chair Jeremy Faison posted “President Biden has finally approved [Tennessee governor Bill Lee’s] state of emergency request,” making it sound as if the delay in federal support for the state during…

^{Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American)}

In our appeal we argue:
"#Disinformation and hate speech, ... are still defining elements" on #X, "elections are being manipulated and democratic institutions are attacked."

A current example of this is the #Trollrensics study on the #EPelection that became public last week. According to it, millions of posts promoting right-wing populist parties were distributed by over 50,000 fake accounts on X. 👇
theguardian.com/world/article/…

Why do #universities legitimize these fake campaigns with their presence on X?
Sign the petition 👉 → openpetition.de/unis4mastodon

#Unis4Mastodon 🇪🇺 🌼 🇪🇺

Disinformation networks ‘flooded’ X before EU elections, report says

Analysis by Dutch researchers shows coordinated activity in France, Germany and Italy in run-up to ballot

^{Lisa O'Carroll (The Guardian)}

“In recent years, UU's reach on X has decreased compared to other platforms, such as LinkedIn. In addition, we have seen how X, often more than other platforms, struggles with the rise of disinformation, fake accounts and online harassment.”

There will always be comments about how things can be done faster or differently, but these are simply decisions that show courage of the @utrechtuniversity!! 💪❤️👌🏫📰

#utrechtuniversity #socialmedia #disinformation #publicvalues

uu.nl/en/news/utrecht-universi…

Utrecht University quits X

As Utrecht University, we choose to no longer use X (formerly Twitter) as part of our communication strategy.

^{Utrecht University}

We, the Aktionsbündnis neue Soziale Medien (New Social Media Action Alliance) today appealed to #universities in Germany to shut down their #X (formerly #Twitter) accounts as soon as possible.

Signatures for the appeal, written as an open letter, are now being collected on the #OpenPetition platform 📝
openpetition.de/petition/onlin…

The appeal points out that the presence on X/Twitter does not do justice to the universities' remit to provide information because of the #disinformation and political agitation practised there. At the same time, presences should be established on #Mastodon and other services in the #Fediverse, whose decentralised and moderated design is much more compatible with the rules of democratic and sustainable coexistence.

First #universities in Germany leave X/Twitter

At the end of last year, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences announced its withdrawal from #X / #Twitter. President Prof. Steinmetz justified the move:

"We have observed with growing discomfort the consequences of inadequate content moderation on 'X'. Discriminatory and anti-Semitic content, conspiracy narratives, political #disinformation and even calls for #violence were able to spread rapidly on 'X', ... We no longer want to be found in this environment. We can no longer reconcile this with our values: ... As a community of diverse people, #tolerance and respectful interaction with one another is important to us."

h-da.de/meldung-einzelansicht/…

Bravo, #h_da!
There is an urgent need for universities to compare their mission statements with the behavior of the major advertising platforms and draw conclusions.
You can sign here to encourage more #unisinsfediverse:
👉 openpetition.de/petition/onlin…

The #library of University #Mannheim has left X/ #Twitter:
"As a scientific institution, we are committed to free and open access to information and knowledge and also reject any kind of #extremism, #hatespeech and #disinformation. We have therefore decided to close our account on the #X platform as of January 31, 2024."
blog.bib.uni-mannheim.de/Aktue…

Bravo, Mannheim University Library, for this decisive step!
And don't these values apply to all scientific institutions in Germany?
The UB is now looking into setting up an account on #Mastodon, as @unimannheim already operates.
If you want to help the #universities continue on this path, sign the petition:

👉 openpetition.de/unis4mastodon

#unis4mastodon

Around a month ago, the radio station Deutschlandfunk also withdrew from the X/ #Twitter platform
twitter.com/DLF/status/1742134…

It had previously reported: "The #X communication platform is losing more advertising customers. ... In addition, the EU Commission announced that it no longer wanted to place advertising for the time being. The reason given was that there was an alarming increase in #disinformation and #HateSpeech on the platform."
deutschlandfunk.de/weitere-wer…

#unisinsfediverse