Colloqium #35
May 10, 2025 at 12:00 pm CEST
Description
In early 2025, we published an open letter urging European politicians and leaders to abandon X, formerly known as Twitter. Since its acquisition by Elon Musk, the platform has increasingly favored divisive narratives, often amplifying far-right movements and extremist voices. Political leaders who remain on X inadvertently legitimize a space where disinformation and hate speech thrive, putting democratic values at risk. Our letter calls on leaders to take a simple but powerful stand: delete their official accounts and seek more democratic spaces for communication.
We have collected around 2,400 signatures so far through openpetition.org and have joined the international EscapeX campaign https://escape-x.org/, which encourages the transition to fairer platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky through the openportability.org tool.
One of the main goals of our campaign is to raise awareness about the dangers of disinformation campaigns and their impact on democratic societies. Rather than trying to shut down any platform, our focus is on encouraging political leaders - who have a special duty of accountability - to take responsibility for where and how they communicate with the public. This initiative also highlights the urgent need to strengthen social media regulation to ensure transparency, neutrality and accountability online. Europe must lead the way in defending a digital public sphere that serves, rather than undermines, democracy.
To expand our efforts, we are also seeking partnerships with non-profit organizations to collect signatures in person and further mobilize public support.
Main website: https://leavex.eu
Petition: https://openpetition.eu/leavex
Please find materials below on:
- Why the argument that you have to stay on social networks to provide opposition is complete nonsense, Mike Kuketz
- Why EU leaders should get off Musk’s X, by Andrew Rettman (Reading)
- The information arms race can’t be won, but we have to keep fighting, by Cailin O’Connor (Reading)
- Our big problem is not misinformation; it’s knowingness, by Jonathan Malesic (Reading)
- This is a digital coup, by Carole Cadwalladr (Video, circa 17 mins))
- The Next Global Superpower Isn’t Who You Think, by Ian Bremmer (Video, circa 20 mins)
- Why leave X, 144. Netzpolitischer Abend, by Everton Zanella Alvarenga (Video, ca 20 mins)
And more curated news and articles related to the topic: https://leavex.eu/news/
Speakers
Everton Z. Alvarenga: Today, I work as a developer in Berlin, focusing on machine learning and the digitalization of the German public administration. With a background in particle physics and years of experience in IT, I bring a unique perspective to the intersection of technology, democracy, and collaboration. I have led initiatives such as founding the Open Knowledge Foundation in Brazil and managing the Wikipedia Education Program in Brazil, gaining deep experience in mass collaboration, community engagement, and public advocacy. My technical expertise in open platforms and digital infrastructure helps inform my work on the societal impact of social media and the defense of democratic values.