Major German Political Parties Collectively Withdraw from X, Boycotting the Proliferation of Hate Speech and Misinformation
Germany's major political parties, including the Social Democratic Party, the Greens, and the Left Party, have collectively announced their withdrawal from X (formerly Twitter), criticizing the platform for being inundated with hate speech and misinformation, rendering it unable to serve as a space for rational public discourse.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 4, 2026 at 23:14
- 🔍 Collected: May 4, 2026 at 23:31 (17 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 4, 2026 at 23:44 (13 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, Berlin 4th, special correspondent Lin Shang-ying) Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, and the Left Party (die Linke) today simultaneously announced that they will cease operating their X social media accounts, criticizing the platform for being inundated with hate speech and misinformation in recent years, making it difficult to serve as a space for rational public discourse.
The center-left major party SPD, the Greens (a ruling party during Olaf Scholz's government), and the Left Party (die Linke), which has gained considerable youth support in recent years, today announced their collective withdrawal from the social media platform X. All three parties are left-leaning political parties in the German political spectrum.
The three parties issued a joint statement on their respective X accounts: “X has gradually fallen into chaos in recent years. Political discussions should be based on effectively conveying information and promoting exchange, but X has increasingly promoted the spread of misinformation. Therefore, we have decided not to operate this account anymore, and we will continue to speak out and interact on other platforms in the future.”
In addition to the political parties, the accounts withdrawn this time also include the parliamentary group accounts of the three parties, as well as the personal accounts of key political figures such as Jan van Aken, chairman of the Left Party, and Katharina Dröge, chair of the Green Party's parliamentary group.
According to Der Spiegel, this collective 'quitting' action was initiated by Pegah Edalatian, General Secretary of the Green Party. The three parties coordinated for several weeks, jointly designing the hashtag '#WirVerlassenX' (We Are Leaving X) to send a political signal through collective action.
Edalatian stated in an interview with the online media Table that X's importance as a platform for political information and public discourse has significantly declined, and it has indeed become a “breeding ground for misinformation and hate speech.”
She said, “We want to continue discussing various issues in the digital space, seeing and absorbing different perspectives. However, on the X platform, this is almost impossible.”
In 2022, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, acquired the American social media platform Twitter. Before the transaction, he stated that he bought Twitter to create a healthy and free public debate space to promote human civilization.
However, after Twitter changed ownership, Der Spiegel believes that, in addition to being rebranded as X, the algorithm for content management has become increasingly lenient, with less restraint on hate speech such as racism and anti-Semitism, turning the platform into a breeding ground for misinformation and extremist rhetoric. Although more open, it violates the true spirit of liberal democracy.
Ahead of last year's German elections, Musk supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which led to a movement to withdraw from X across Germany. Currently, government agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Justice and academic institutions like universities have ceased updating their X accounts. (Edited by: Wei Shu) 1150504
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA 'First-hand News' APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.
(Central News Agency, Berlin 4th, special correspondent Lin Shang-ying) Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, and the Left Party (die Linke) today simultaneously announced that they will cease operating their X social media accounts, criticizing the platform for being inundated with hate speech and misinformation in recent years, making it difficult to serve as a space for rational public discourse.
The center-left major party SPD, the Greens (a ruling party during Olaf Scholz's government), and the Left Party (die Linke), which has gained considerable youth support in recent years, today announced their collective withdrawal from the social media platform X. All three parties are left-leaning political parties in the German political spectrum.
The three parties issued a joint statement on their respective X accounts: “X has gradually fallen into chaos in recent years. Political discussions should be based on effectively conveying information and promoting exchange, but X has increasingly promoted the spread of misinformation. Therefore, we have decided not to operate this account anymore, and we will continue to speak out and interact on other platforms in the future.”
In addition to the political parties, the accounts withdrawn this time also include the parliamentary group accounts of the three parties, as well as the personal accounts of key political figures such as Jan van Aken, chairman of the Left Party, and Katharina Dröge, chair of the Green Party's parliamentary group.
According to Der Spiegel, this collective 'quitting' action was initiated by Pegah Edalatian, General Secretary of the Green Party. The three parties coordinated for several weeks, jointly designing the hashtag '#WirVerlassenX' (We Are Leaving X) to send a political signal through collective action.
Edalatian stated in an interview with the online media Table that X's importance as a platform for political information and public discourse has significantly declined, and it has indeed become a “breeding ground for misinformation and hate speech.”
She said, “We want to continue discussing various issues in the digital space, seeing and absorbing different perspectives. However, on the X platform, this is almost impossible.”
In 2022, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, acquired the American social media platform Twitter. Before the transaction, he stated that he bought Twitter to create a healthy and free public debate space to promote human civilization.
However, after Twitter changed ownership, Der Spiegel believes that, in addition to being rebranded as X, the algorithm for content management has become increasingly lenient, with less restraint on hate speech such as racism and anti-Semitism, turning the platform into a breeding ground for misinformation and extremist rhetoric. Although more open, it violates the true spirit of liberal democracy.
Ahead of last year's German elections, Musk supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which led to a movement to withdraw from X across Germany. Currently, government agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Justice and academic institutions like universities have ceased updating their X accounts. (Edited by: Wei Shu) 1150504
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA 'First-hand News' APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.