BERLIN (Reuters) -The German government is in ongoing discussions about whether to delete its presence on the X platform due to concerns over its algorithms, a spokesperson said on Friday.
“This is a permanent consideration that we have to make again and again,” the spokesperson said, a day after a live talk on the platform between billionaire owner Elon Musk and Alice Weidel, leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party.
X and other social media platforms have algorithms that do not promote “a calm, objective and balanced discourse, but rather one that tends to be agitated and polarising,” the spokesperson said.
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She added that for now, a decision had been taken to remain on the platform because of the fact that it enabled access to a wide audience.
Musk has become increasingly vocal in his support for far-right and anti-establishment parties in Europe ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election, prompting German institutions including unions and universities to leave his platform in protest.
In a live talk on X on Thursday, Musk doubled down on an earlier endorsement of the AfD, an anti-immigration, anti-Islamic party labeled as right-wing extremist by German security services. Musk’s stance on the AfD has caused consternation in Berlin.
The government spokesperson denied that concerns about X were linked to Musk’s involvement in German politics, saying that it was up to Brussels to decide whether X was complying with the law in the run-up to elections.
(Reporting by Friederike Heine; editing by Matthias Williams, William Maclean)
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