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The #eXit wave of #universities continues in northern #Europe, in #Finland.

After the university of Oulu also the university of #Helsinki will stop communicating via X.

“X no longer serves the purpose for which we have used it: disseminating the University’s communications content to our desired target groups. ..,” says Director of Communications Taina Kyllönen.

“We don’t want to promote a conflict-seeking conversational culture, nor do we wish to expose our #researchers to offensive behaviour through our own posts,” says Kyllönen.

studies.helsinki.fi/instructio…

#Unis4Mastodon



As the #eXit continues, the next weeks and months will show how seriously universities take concepts like democracy, equality or inclusion, all words most of them list in their mission statements:

bjoern.brembs.net/2024/12/by-t…

How about your university? Is their mission statement more show or more substance?

#academicchatter #academia #universities

  • Mostly show (46%, 7 votes)
  • Both (6%, 1 vote)
  • Mostly substance (13%, 2 votes)
  • My university has a mission statement? (33%, 5 votes)
15 voters. Poll end: 1 month ago


(1/2) Dear supporters,

yesterday our petition for #Unis4Mastodon ended with more than 2,070 signatures.
Yesterday alone, another 114 signatures were collected
openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon
This shows how pressing the issue of using truly #socialmedia is for many people.

We have managed to get a number of #universities to shut down their X-accounts. And we know that many are considering taking this step as well.
Furthermore, #SciComm is no longer conceivable without the #Fediverse, as the steadily growing number of followers on #Mastodon channels shows.
mastodon-listen.playground.54g…


In 2 days our appeal to #universities and the #HRK for an #eXit and #Unis4Mastodon will close.

Everyday, X demonstrates how unsuitable it is for #SciComm. And finally, the eXit wave has reached the universities, as our logo image shows, which is getting increasingly bigger. 👍 Most of them are also active on #Mastodon, see mastodon-listen.playground.54g…

So, sign up ✍️ quickly that other universities will follow (everyone from Germany and abroad may participate)
👉 openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon


Happy New Year 2025!
And good luck to the #Fediverse.

In 4 days our petition to the #universities and the #HRK for the eXit and #Unis4Mastodon 👩‍🎓 🐘 👨‍🎓 will end.
So, please, sign quickly:
👉 openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon

For inspiration, here is a picture of the logos of #research institutes in Europe that have already made the #eXit. Great, and congratulations!
(forgot anyone? → feel free to let us know).
Some of them have already set up #Mastodon channels, see the amazing list by @scammo
mastodon-listen.playground.54g…


@daniel @ricmac @BBCRD

A #PeerTube channel for university videos is a cool thing. We recommend this as the second activity that #universities in the #Fediverse should take after setting up a #Mastodon channel. It's great that you've already done that. Feel free to report on it here; there are many university teachers and researchers who would like to benefit from your experiences.

#Unis4Mastodon


European Universities started …
.. leaving X

#Universities in #Amsterdam, #Vienna, #Berlin, #Karlsruhe, #Aachen and other cities in Europe have left microblogging service X during the last week(s).

They justify this step with the systematic lack of moderation on the platform, which has resulted in a flood of hate speech, disinformation and cyberbullying.

Some of them have already started to run channels on Mastodon: @univienna, @tuberlin, @KIT_Karlsruhe, @UniOldenburg @unibremen, @freieuniversitaet, @UniUlm , @HTW_Berlin, @uni_paderborn.

X is not a suitable medium for communication in #research and #education. Help get the other #universities to follow suit and sign the petition
👉 openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon
#unis4mastodon 🌻 👩‍🎓 #eXit


The methods practiced on #X disqualify the network for any sensible communication.
Now it is also making money by spreading #AI-generated #FakeNews and influencing elections in the USA, as the BBC reports:
bbc.com/news/articles/cx2dpj48…

#Universities and other #research and #educational institutions that want to provide fact-based information should switch to the real social media of the #Fediverse 🐿️ like #Mastodon 🐘 as soon as possible.

It is beyond reason that the legitimization of lying networks like X is supported with #taxpayers' money.
Help change this soon and sign the petition 👇
openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon

#Unis4Mastodon #eXit
@maxplanckgesellschaft @fraunhofergesellschaft


Some people who want to leave #X wonder if #BlueSky is an alternative. 😕
In our petition, we advocate using the decentralized #Mastodon. We do not consider BlueSky to be a sustainable alternative because it is another commercial service that spies on user data to generate customized #advertising with it.

The BlueSky Terms of Service bsky.social/about/support/tos
and Privacy Policy comprise 7100+ words 😡. Nobody reads this; this is not an “informed consent” as required by #GDPR. We see the #universities here as having a duty of care towards their students and employees, whom they must protect from such data collection. Mastodon and the other #Fediverse 🦩 services are much more suitable for university communication.
BlueSky is just another data leech.

That's why you should sign the petition for #Unis4Mastodon 🐘 👩‍🎓 🐘 :
openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon


We forgot to add the University of Applied Sciences #HTW_Berlin to the list of #universities that did the #eXit 👣. They silenced their #X account this year and do not post there anymore.
Bravo, @HTW_Berlin, a good step! 👏
👉 htw-berlin.de/en/

In addition, a channel has been set up into the Fediverse 🌳 and the X logo has been removed from the homepage (a small hint: now add the Mastodon logo to the homepage).
Many potential followers would certainly be interested in finding out more about #HTW_Berlin via the #Mastodon channel.
Sign the petition: ✍️ openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon

#Unis4Mastodon 🐘


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 🇪🇺 🌼 🇪🇺


The #FreeUniversity of #Berlin, one of the best-known #universities of #Germany has decided to close its account on #X:
"In light of developments on the social media platform X, Freie Universität Berlin has decided to shut down this channel."
fu-berlin.de/informationen-fue…

In its justification, it commits itself to the principles of the #Fediverse and #OpenScience:
"Freie Universität Berlin has been present on Mastodon since December 2022. #Mastodon is part of the decentralized Fediverse network. Compared to large commercial social networks, Mastodon relies on chronological feeds and reduces the algorithmic sorting of posts. This ensures that information is always openly available and reduces the likelihood of so-called filter bubbles forming."

Bravo, @freieuniversitaet ! A good decision!

#Unis4Mastodon 🌻 #AlleInsFediverse 🐘 🐘 🐘


We've created another image for our campaign.

Share it where you can to help #universities make more use of the #Fediverse 🌻 and say goodbye to #X / #Twitter - just like many others already did.

And feel free to sign it yourself, if you haven't already done so
👉 openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon

#Unis4Mastodon 🐘 🐘 🐘


When it comes to #tracking users, the focus is often on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.

The European data protection group noyb @noybeu filed a complaint against #X / #Twitter last year for violating the #GDPR:
👉 noyb.eu/en/gdpr-complaint-agai…

As determined by noyb, the company collects sensitive data such as political views and religious beliefs by monitoring clicks, likes and responses to posts on its own platform.
Felix Mikolasch, data protection lawyer at noyb: “After we filed our first complaint in this matter, the EU Commission has already confirmed to stop advertising on X. However, to put an end to this in general, we need enforcement against X as a platform used by many others.”

In our petition
👉 openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon
we pointed out the #DataProtection problems with the major platforms and thus recommend the use of #Fediverse services at #universities.

#Unis4Mastodon


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…


Wikimedia Deutschland @wikimediaDE is committed to free access to knowledge and education at all levels of society.

Regarding their value orientation, they say: "#participation, #diversity, free and open access, #justice, #sustainability and respectful collaboration - these #values are at the core of Wikimedia Deutschland."

In October last year, it became clear that X/Twitter no longer met these criteria: "After much deliberation, we decided to no longer communicate about the work of Wikimedia Deutschland on #X, formerly #Twitter."
blog.wikimedia.de/2023/10/26/w…

A logical and responsible decision @wikimediaDE !
But not only that: since last week we also welcome @wikimediaDE to the group of supporting organizations of our action alliance.
Welcome @wikimediaDE !
We look forward to working with you to encourage the #universities for a better internet.

#UnisInsFediverse


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

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