Universities draw consequences: warning against platform x!

A growing number of German universities and scientific institutions withdraws from the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The initiative was launched by the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and now affects more than 60 institutions. This decision was formulated as a protest against the increasing radicalization of the discourse on the platform.

The university management criticize the current changes in X, which contradict their understanding of cosmopolitanism, transparency and democratic discourse. They express concerns that the platform increases algorithmically right -wing populist content and limits the range of scientific and diverse content. This is no longer compatible with the basic values of universities and research institutions, such as diversity, freedom and scientific integrity, such as mdr

reactions and alternatives

The decision only affects the X accounts of the institutions involved, while communication via other social media channels remains. Institutions that have already set their activities on X support the initiative and are increasingly active on alternatives such as Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. The withdrawals are not only understood as an internal measure, but as a strong sign of fact -based communication and against anti -democratic tendencies. In addition, these institutions continue to observe the development of other social platforms and their algorithms.

Among the supporters of the "#wissxit" initiative are prominent names such as the Free University of Berlin, the universities of Heidelberg and Münster, the RWTH Aachen, the German Sport University Cologne and the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). The background to this development is also the controversy, which was created in a conversation with AfD boss Alice Weidel by supporting the AfD and false claims by Elon Musk, which contributes to the concerns about the platform, such as Tagesschau determined.