Hey, Journalists: X is Now Truth Social

08 Nov 2024 - Robert W. Gehl

Hey, journalists, it’s time to get off X. Today. And switch to the fediverse.

Here’s why.

When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, rebranded it X, and converted it from the ostensible “public town square” into his own personal right-wing techbro platform, many many people left it for the fediverse.

But a key group did not: journalists. Sure, there was some flirtation with the fediverse, and to be fair, some journalists did make the switch. But many stayed on X, arguing that the audience and the movers and shakers were still there, in spite of Musk’s gutting of content moderation on the platform.

OK, that’s an excuse to stay on X, journalists, but it’s increasingly a flimsy one. Especially today. What excuse do you have now? Now that we’ve seen how Musk made X into a machine to help propel Trump back into the White House?

By legitimizing X, you’ve legitimized Musk’s insinuation into the halls of power – and you helped fund his efforts. You kept eyes on X, which put eyes on the ads. You kept people’s attention on the rage machine, on the disinformation and conspiracy theories. (And if the first Trump term is any guide, this is all going to get worse.) Enough already.

While you were sticking to X (and probably calling it “Twitter” out of nostalgia) millions of people were working away to make the fediverse a strongly moderated, calmer social media space where people do in fact discuss the news of the day and have welcomed journalists and news organizations.

“But the fediverse is hard!” I can hear you protest. “And it would be too much work to have an X account and a fediverse account.”

To which I reply: what about Truth Social?

Since its launch in 2021, reporters have signed up for accounts on Truth to access Trump’s ALL CAPS SCREEDS and dutifully post them in news sites in the name of balance. No doubt, journalists will be logging into Truth even more now, since it’s the main source for Trump’s thoughts. After all, he must post there to keep the stock price inflated.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I doubt reporters are using Truth to engage with audiences or to talk to their friends. They’re using other social media for that. Apparently, then, it’s not hard for reporters to have an account on Truth and still use other social media.

So, say it with me: X is now Truth Social. If you must keep an account there, dip into it to see what’s going on (you know, to watch as Trump’s attorney general announces the arrests of his political rivals) and then go back to your fediverse account. Just like you’ve been doing with Truth Social. You dip into Truth, copypaste Trump’s screeds, and get out.

Now, do that with X. Dip in, get out.

And put your energy into something that won’t be bought by a billionaire and converted to a fascism promotion machine.

Postscript: What about Bluesky?

To be honest, I go back and forth on Bluesky. I know many people are enthused about Bluesky, particularly because they’re building their own protocol. But their recent acceptance of venture capital from cryptocurrency investors begs the question: what will Bluesky do when the VC funders demand a return? As Cory Doctorow argues, it will likely be something shitty. If you want to put your eggs into another corporate basket, go ahead. It didn’t turn out well the last time.

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• journalism