Spain's Vanguardia daily to stop posting on 'disinformation network' X

Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia on Thursday announced it would cease publishing its reports on Elon Musk's social media platform X, which it said had become a "disinformation network".

The decision by the Barcelona-based daily comes a day after Britain's The Guardian also said it would quit promoting its journalism on X, formerly Twitter, citing "often disturbing content" on the site.

La Vanguardia said X had become "an echo chamber" full of "conspiracy theories and disinformation" that would not have had such an impact with "effective and reasonable moderation".

Musk has gutted trust and safety teams, scaled back content moderation efforts and restored known conspiracy theorists to the platform since purchasing it for $44 billion in 2022.

"Hatred of ethnic minorities, misogyny and racism" were among the viral posts "that violate human rights" but captured users' attention and more money through advertising, the newspaper added.

La Vanguardia also denounced the growth of bots spreading disinformation, including India-based accounts commenting on Spain's devastating October floods that have killed 223 people.

The Catalan daily said it would continue following people, businesses and institutions on X to inform readers of messages and debates.

Its journalists will also be free to keep using it "within the guidelines of restraint and respect for human rights and freedom of expression" required of them in all settings.

Musk has consistently courted controversy with his use of X, particularly during the recent US presidential election where he endorsed victorious Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Musk used his personal account boasting nearly 205 million followers to sway voters in favor of Trump, but his incendiary and misleading posts were criticized for cranking up the political temperature.

Yesterday British news publisher the Guardian had also announced that it will no longer post to X, citing "disturbing content" on the social media platform, including racism and conspiracy theories.

Guardian, which has 10.7 million followers on X, is the first large UK media company to retreat from the platform that Elon Musk purchased in 2022.

"We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere," the Guardian said in an editorial published on its website.

"This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism."

In response, Musk posted on X and said of the Guardian: "They are irrelevant."