Europe’s press goes after Musk’s X

RSF’s case came as U.K. newspaper The Guardian announced on Wednesday that it was leaving the “toxic” platform, citing Musk’s influence in the U.S. election and because of “often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.”

Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia also quit X, saying Thursday that X had “become a platform for conspiracy theories and misinformation.” And French publishers launched a legal case Tuesday claiming X won’t open law-mandated talks with them over content payments.

The moves come at a sensitive time for Europe, as it grapples with how to respond to the election of Donald Trump. The U.S. president-elect beared heavily on Musk’s financial and public support during his election campaign and announced the tech tycoon will take on a government role to size down the government apparatus.

A top European Union official called Musk a “promoter of evil” just last month and his social media site X faces a first-of-its-kind case under the bloc’s content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), that investigates how Musk turned X into a haven for fake news and harmful content after he bought the platform in 2022 and decimated efforts to moderate content.

Behind the backlash of press against X is also a frustration over getting remunerated for the traffic that news content provides for social media. The EU’s copyright rules allow the press industry to seek remuneration when its content is displayed on social media or search engines.

French publishers in particular have ramped up pressure against X after they failed to kickstart negotiations with X over how much it owes them for using their copyright-protected content.