French movement asks X users to leave platform on US inauguration day

A group of French organisations are asking the public to leave X on January 20th, the day that incoming US President Donald Trump will be inaugurated.

The French Human Rights League (LDH) and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) cofounded the collective “HelloQuitteX,” which is now supported by a group of 86 unions and organisations that pledge to no longer post any content on X because the algorithms “favour the proliferation of hateful content and conspiracy theories,” according to a press release on theirwebsite. 

The platform, the coalition says, has also been the scene of “cyberharassment campaigns” by the far right in countries like France and the United States. 

“By leaving X, we are well aware of depriving ourselves of a communication channel to promote our actions,” the coalition said inthe French newspaper Le Monde.

“But this tool …  has become a serious danger”.

The collective accuses X owner Elon Musk of “manipulating the conditions of public debate” away from human rights and equality, the statement continues. 

Their statement asks anyone who shares the LDH’s view of “advocating for digital spaces that respect … the protection of pluralism, respectful date and reason” to partake in this “fundamental mobilisation for democracy,” by boycotting X and joining them instead on Mastodon or Bluesky. 

Users down across the EU

The movement follows one from 60 German and Austrian institutions last week, whichsaid they would leave X or drastically reduce their app usage. 

That decision came a day after Musk hosted a conversation with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD). 

Roughly 105 million people had an X account in the EU between February and July 2024, but only about two-thirds of those accounts are logged in, according to the company’s most recent transparencyreport.

That number is down from 111.4 million in the six months leading up to January 2024. 

A recent analysis byEuronews found that user numbers fell in 25 of 27 EU member states in 2024, with only Germany and Finland seeing an uptick in new accounts being created.