Leave X - Protect Democracy

@leavex

European politicians and leaders must act NOW to protect democracy. Contact the MEPs to leave X: #LeaveX #ByeByeElon #HelloQuitX […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· 22h

“Freiheit und Demokratie sind nicht selbstverständlich. Wir müssen immer dafür kämpfen”, schreibt Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz auf X. “Freedom and democracy cannot be taken for granted. We must always fight for them”, Chancellor Friedrich Merz writes on X […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Photo of a Tagesspiegel article headlined “Politiker rufen am 65. Jahrestag des Mauerbaus zur Verteidigung der Demokratie auf.” ("Politicians call for the defence of democracy on the 65th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall.")

The article quotes Chancellor Friedrich Merz writing on X: “Freiheit und Demokratie sind nicht selbstverständlich. Wir müssen immer dafür kämpfen” (“Freedom and democracy cannot be taken for granted. We must always fight for them.”).

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· 14d

Tagesspiegel today: TikTok is a radicalization engine. X as well. #LeaveTikTok #LeaveX #FarRight #CSD #BigTech #SocialMedia

A close-up of a German newspaper article from Sonntagsblatt (dated August 1, 2026) with the headline "TikTok ist ein Radikalisierungsmotor" ("TikTok is a radicalization engine"). The article, by Inga Barthels, discusses Tugay Saraç, a former Islamist turned educator who now leads workshops on queerness and religion, questioning whether radicalization can be prevented like that of the CSD attacker. The visible layout includes columns of text, a subheading "Zur Person" (About the person), and a byline.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· May 31

This is why the Fediverse matters: it's a platform designed for human conversation, not algorithmic engagement. https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/6nue7_v1 #Facebook #Instagram #BigTech #SocialMedia #Fediverse

LinkedIn post by Jay Van Bavel, PhD, titled "Social media is increasingly anti-social". The post highlights that only 7% of Instagram time and 17% of Facebook time is spent on content from friends or followed accounts, with the rest being algorithmic videos from strangers. It notes that platforms like TikTok prioritize engagement over social connection, and over half of long posts on Meta are AI-generated. The post links to a study, "Towards a Post-Social Media Studies" by Petter Törnberg and Richard Rogers (University of Amsterdam), which explores the shift from social-graph-based to interest-based recommendation algorithms and the rise of distinct post-social media formations.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Apr 16

To be clear, we are not against EuroSky, and we want to avoid protocol wars. However, we just received an email from @eurosky.social asking for a donation on the same day that their decentralized feature seems to have encountered significant issues. How […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Apr 16

We prefer #Mastodon for several reasons, the main one being its ability to easily form independent, community-driven interoperable instances. Nevertheless, we have a #Bluesky account so as not to exclude people who prefer this alternative. Recently we […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

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Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Apr 10

Conspiracy theories are nothing new, but digital platforms have transformed their scale, speed and influence. They are now a major part of the disinformation ecosystem, shaping public debate and eroding trust. This latest paper explores what drives […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

"Illustration for a research paper titled 'Weaponised suspicion: How conspiracy theories fuel modern disinformation'. The image features a black crow in flight, with a flock of smaller bird silhouettes scattering from its wings, and a red flag emerging from its beak. The European Union flag is visible in the bottom left corner."

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 29

Instagram drops end-to-end encrypted chats: What it means https://proton.me/blog/instagram-end-to-end-encryption What does that mean? It means that millions of people are unaware of this danger and will passively accept the loss of their privacy. #Instagram #Meta #DigitalPrivacy #LeaveInstagram

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 14

#AI #Disinformation #War #BigTech #FarRight #OpenAI #Google

Marijn Markus
AI Lead | Managing Data Scientist | Public Speaker
#BBC tech reporter spent 20 minutes writing a fake blog post, claiming he’s the world’s #1 hot dog-eating journalist. Even invented a fake championship to back it up. Within 24 hours, watch #ChatGPT and #Google repeat it as fact.
He manipulated two of the world’s most powerful #AI systems with a BS single page.
Users trust AI answers more than websites, because it feels like the answer comes directly from the tech company itself. Not from a random page somewhere on the #internet.
In the early 2000s, people learned how to game Google. In 2026, people are learning how to game AI retrieval systems.
If one blog post can convince an AI that a journalist is the world’s top competitive hot-dog eater, imagine what a coordinated #strategy by a company or foreign adversary can do for a product, a company, or a political narrative.
These tactics will be used to push falsehoods far more than truth.
Welcome to the #Disinformation Age.

BBC Headline:
I hacked ChatGPT and Google’s AI – and it only took 20 minutes
Thomas Germain

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 14

The Billionaires’ War - Paul Krugman https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-billionaires-war #USPol #IranWar #TechBillionaires #BigTech #SocialMedia #LeaveX #Fascism #FarRight

For every dollar donated by billionaires and their immediate families to a candidate or committee associated with Democrats, five dollars went to Republicans.
Much of that was a result of ultrawealthy people in the tech industry, who aligned with Mr. Trump’s tax and deregulation policies. More than a dozen billionaires were awarded roles in his administration.
And these explicit money flows don’t capture the immense effect of other deployments of billionaires’ wealth, notably the subversion of both conventional and social media. Elon Musk purchased Twitter in 2022 and quickly began converting it into the Nazi-friendly cesspool it is today—and no, that’s not hyperbole. How much did this contribute to the degradation of public discourse? Paramount, controlled by Larry Ellison and run by his son, has taken over CBS News—which is rapidly going downhill—and is on the verge of taking over CNN too. And Jeff Bezos is gutting The Washington Post, although kudos to the remaining reporters who are still trying to do their jobs.
There is, however, something that is still puzzling me: To a large extent billionaires bought themselves a government friendly to their

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 12

War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. https://xcancel.com/WhiteHouse/status/2024497157068194100 #IranWar #USPol #Disinformation

A tweet from the official White House Twitter account (@WhiteHouse), posted on February 19, 2026 at 2:51 PM UTC. The tweet reads:
"There is nothing more important than PEACE."

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 11

“The Girl in the Garden”, by Mary Cassatt, adapted to modern times. She scrolls through X, a feed full of child abuse and hate speech, while the bourgeoisie politely looks away. #Impressionism #MaryCassatt #MuseedOrsay #Paris #LeaveX #ChildAbuse #HateSpeech

An Impressionist-style painting in an ornate gold frame shows a young woman in a light gray dress sitting in a garden with red flowers and greenery. She looks down while holding and using a modern smartphone, which has been painted in the same soft, impressionistic brushstroke style as the rest of the artwork.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 10

Excerpt from How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. #BigTech #SocialMedia #USPol #Trump #Journalism #LeaveX #HateSpeech

"a candidate with qualities uniquely tailored to the digital age," Trump attracted free mainstream coverage by creating controversy. By one estimate, the Twitter accounts of MSNBC, CNN, CBS, and NBC—four outlets that no one could accuse of pro-Trump leanings—mentioned Trump twice as often as his general election rival, Hillary Clinton. According to another study, Trump enjoyed up to $2 billion in free media coverage during the primary season.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 10

The more active users are on social media, the more polarized they are. Political attitudes differ but share a common low-dimensional structure across social media and survey data: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.02102 Inside the funhouse mirror factory: How […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

The more active users are on social media, the more polarized they are.

The opinions of the these extreme users are filling your newsfeed, but they are not representative of most citizens or even most social media users--which are far less polarized! https://lnkd.in/eZGKg54Z

This creates false perceptions of social norms and stereotypes, creating a funhouse mirror effect https://lnkd.in/e_aCGbg4

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 10

https://intelligence.weforum.org/topics/a1G680000008j2FEAQ/key-issues/a1G680000008j6SEAQ #Disinformation #AI #SexualAbuse #Democracy #Fraud

Helped explain disinformation for the World Economic Forum:

“Disinformation is a form of propaganda, where a messenger intentionally shares misleading or false narratives through selected channels to exploit targeted audiences. Disinformation can be used, for example, in support of fraud, wars and sexual violence, to marginalize vulnerable communities, and to degrade democracy and accountability.

Disinformation has been repeatedly identified as a systemic global risk in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report and can be a catalyst or accelerant for other climate, health, economic and geopolitical risks. Disinformation occurs in all communications settings, but technologies such as generative artificial intelligence and social media can amplify its reach and harms.

Disinformation is not the same as misinformation. While misinformation also refers to corrupted or misleading information, it is spread without the intention to exploit or harm others, for example when people do not fully understand something or if they misinterpret information and share their misinterpretation.”

Thanks to Sakshee Singh, Eliot Higgins, and Emma Briant for support. I think it’s helpful to have clean definitions.

https://lnkd.in/e_D4x89Z

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 5

🤷 #LeaveX #Iran #USPol #War

Meme: “Me: Create a campaign to urge politicians to leave X and reduce harmful disinformation campaigns.” Below, “World leaders:” followed by a chaotic battlefield with explosions and missiles. 💥

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 5

It's really amazing how TikTok is trying hard to fight its non-stop disinformation campaigns. Is it some sort of competition with X? #LeaveTikTok #LeaveX #Disinformation

An LinkedIn post with some bullshit job for TikTok

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Mar 2

Big Tech and the Far Right: Musk’s growing political role illustrates how concentrated private power in the tech sector is fuelling fascism. Through control of a major social media platform, amplification of far-right narratives and direct engagement with […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Infographic titled "Big Tech and the Far Right" featuring a silhouette of Elon Musk with his arm raised, symbolizing influence and power.
Key Elements:

Main Headline: "Elon Musk’s platform and money is growing extremist parties and causes worldwide."
Supporting Text:

"Algorithmic manipulation"
"Meeting with far-right leaders"
"Public support for far-right causes"

Visuals:

A bar graph-like illustration at the bottom shows country flags (USA, France, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, UK, El Salvador, Germany, South Africa, Spain) with swastika symbols growing from the ground, indicating the rise of far-right movements in these countries.
A small inset graph from Sky News 2025 shows that new X (formerly Twitter) users received twice as much right-wing (60%) content as left-wing (32%).
Another inset graph from Sky News 2025 indicates that over 50% of political content shown to new X users included dehumanizing language, endorsement of violence, or conspiracy theories, with 51% classified as "Extreme" and 49% as "Not extreme."
News headlines embedded in the infographic:

"Elon Musk Receives Chainsaw Gift from Javier Milei at CPAC"
"Elon Musk dropped near $300M supporting Donald Trump in 2024"

The infographic visually communicates the alleged role of Elon Musk’s platform and financial influence in promoting far-right ideologies globally.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 27

https://archive.is/JZpbA #X #Google #Meta #Amazon #Netflix #BigTech #Oligarchy

The richest man owns X.

The second and third richest men control Google.

The fourth richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The fifth richest man owns The Washington Post.

And now the sixth richest could soon take over both Paramount and Warner Bros.

See the problem here?

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 27

"When authoritarianism is on rise, you can count on the richest, least vulnerable men on the planet to be the biggest cowards." Bradley Whitford #BigTech #Oligarchy #Greed #FarRight #Authoritarianism #Cowardice #Meta #X #Amazon #Google

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 26

2/2 #Mastodon #BlueSky #Academia #UK

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 26

UK academia’s presence on X is reaching a tipping point https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2026/01/14/uk-academias-presence-on-x-is-reaching-a-tipping-point/ 1/2 #University #Academia #UK #LeaveX #X

A tipping point
Based on data updated in December for a keynote at the Social Media in Higher Education for Learning and Teaching conference, a tipping point is near. That is, when another thirteen universities cease activity or announce they are leaving X, more universities will be off X than on. Indeed this tipping point may already have been reached, making universities that engage with X the minority.

The reasons why these institutions have remained are varied. Although the putative size and reach of X’s audience is likely a key driver, as is the unwillingness to surrender the seeming influence of large follower counts built up over years. Needless to say whilst the last few years have seen inertia, many senior leadership teams will be reconsidering this question at this very moment.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 26

Comparative Insights on Social Media as an Atrocity Prevention Tool: Policy Implications https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6145346 #SocialMedia #Activism #Disinformation #Crisis

Comparative Insights on Social Media as an Atrocity Prevention Tool: Policy Implications

Arnaud Kurze
Eric Wiebelhaus-Brahm

Abstract
This article examines the role of digital platforms as policy-relevant instruments in atrocity prevention through a comparative analysis of social media campaigns in Canada and Syria. It investigates how virtual spaces facilitate truth-telling and document human rights abuses in the contexts of both historical injustices and ongoing mass violence. By analyzing hashtag campaigns such as #SaveSyria and #TruthAndReconciliation, the article highlights how differences in temporal proximity to atrocities and audience focus shape digital activism strategies. While social media can amplify marginal voices, foster collective memory, and influence public discourse, its prevention potential is constrained by challenges such as stakeholder engagement, competing narratives, and the digital divide. The findings inform policymakers and practitioners on how to design and adapt digital tools within broader atrocity prevention frameworks, tailoring policy instruments to diverse governance settings.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 24

Make fascism socially unacceptable again. Leave X. #LeaveX #JohnOliver #fascim #FarRight #Disinformation #HateSpeech #Democracy

John Oliver saying: Make fascism socially unacceptable again. Leave X.

With a screen displaying Musk and the logos of X and Twitter.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 23

Business as usual: just spreading his lies. #X #LeaveX #Democracy #Musk

Michael Meyer on some bullshit said by Musk:

Elon Musk commented on the Court case we won last week against X. He refers to the published feed algorithm (Musk called the algorithm "dumb" and in need of "massive improvement"). But our case is about the results of the algorithm. How does the debate on X on Hungarian elections unfold in practice? The Court ruled that X must give us API-type access to public posts so we can study them systematically.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 20

Your inability to focus isn’t a failing. It’s a design problem, and the answer isn’t getting rid of our screen time https://aeon.co/essays/what-we-think-is-a-decline-in-literacy-is-a-design-problem #BigTech #SocialMedia #Books #Reading #Attention #X #TikTok #Facebook

Gloria Mark, Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California Irvine, has tracked attention spans on screens for two decades. In 2004, people averaged two and a half minutes on any screen before switching tasks. By 2016, that had fallen to 47 seconds. This is frequently cited as evidence that screens inherently fragment attention. But look closer at what Mark’s research actually shows. The fragmentation correlates not with screens in general but with specific design patterns: notification systems, variable reward schedules, infinite scroll. These are choices made by specific companies for specific economic reasons. They are not inherent properties of the medium.

Peer-reviewed research demonstrates that social media platforms exploit variable reward schedules, the same psychological mechanisms that make gambling addictive. Users don’t know what they’ll find when they open an app; they might see hundreds of likes or nothing at all. This unpredictability acts as a powerful reinforcement signal (often discussed via dopamine ‘reward prediction error’ mechanisms), keeping people checking habitually. This isn’t because screens are inherently attention-destroying. It’s because the dominant platforms have been deliberately engineered to fragment attention in service of advertising revenue.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 19

New article in Nature describes a field experiment on X which shows that assigning users to an algorithmic feed increases engagement and shifts opinions to align more with conservative viewpoints and demotes mainstream news. Sounds obvious but important in […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Excerpt from the abstract: Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users’ feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X’s algorithm has persistent effects on users’ current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 18

#Grok #AI #Musk #CognitiveBias

Screenshot of a LinkedIn post from the “Cambridge Disinformation Summit” (Centre for Financial Reporting & Accountability, University of Cambridge Judge Business School) with about 20,700 followers. The post reads: “A leader of AI tech seemingly and ironically indicates that cognitive bias is a concept design objective.” Below it is a screenshot of a tweet by Elon Musk that says, “Grok must win or we will be ruled by an insufferably woke and sanctimonious AI.” Embedded in Musk’s tweet is another tweet by Arthur MacWaters stating that most people are “catastrophically” underestimating the danger of AI morally compromised by the political slant of its makers, followed by an example question about whether Canada was wrong to de-bank truckers who protested COVID shutdowns. At the bottom are small side-by-side images labeled “Grok” and “Claude,” suggesting a comparison between AI systems.

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 17

A big win for online transparency and platform accountability! The Berlin Court of Appeals has ruled that X must give Democracy Reporting International access to the research data we need to study information manipulation during Hungary's April elections […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Court orders X to provide DRI with access to research data

Leave X - Protect Democracy@leavex· Feb 15

Le Monde ("sur X"), El País ("en X"), Tagesspiegel ("auf X"), The Guardian ("on X"), you name it. How much attention is generated simply because politicians use X as their main communication channel? How much journalism is dragged into following and […] [Original post on mastodon.social]