Guardian won’t post on Elon Musk’s X due to ‘conspiracy theories’

The Guardian, the London-based left-leaning newspaper whose editor-in-chief recently offered staffers free mental health counseling to cope with President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, will no longer post on Elon Musk’s X to protest “far-right conspiracy theories and racism” on the social media platform.

The publication made the announcement in a Wednesday post explaining to readers that it will no longer post any of the newspaper’s editorial content from official accounts on X.

“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 newspaper wrote on Wednesday.

The Guardian said it was mulling the move “for a while” in light of the “often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.”

The presidential campaign and the re-election of Trump “served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.”

X users will still be able to share links to Guardian content and Guardian reporters will “occasionally” embed content from the platform within news stories.

But X “now plays a diminished role in promoting our work,” according to the newspaper.

Guardian ended its post by urging readers to donate to the publication, whose business model relies on voluntary financial support from the public.

The Post has sought comment from X.

After Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in last Tuesday’s election, Guardian editor-in-chief Katherine Viner urged staffers at the publication’s UK and Australia offices to contact their US-based colleagues to “offer your support.”

“I know the result has been very upsetting for many colleagues,” Viner wrote in an email which was obtained by The Post.

“If you want to talk about it, your manager and members of the leadership team are all available, as is the People team.”

Viner — who has been in charge of 203-year-old London publication since 2015 — also attempted to fund-raise off of Trump’s political comeback, which she called “an extraordinary, devastating moment in the history” of the US.

She penned an essay Wednesday urging readers to donate in order to help it “stand up to four more years of (Trump).”

Musk, who bought what was then known as Twitter in late 2022 and rebranded it X, has been an enthusiastic backer of Trump during the campaign.

Trump on Tuesday rewarded Musk by naming him as co-chair of a newly created Department of Government Efficiency — a non-governmental entity that will act as an advisory panel to the incoming administration.

Musk has pledged to use his business acumen and connections to the tech world to slash government red tape and cut spending.

Trump’s victory and Musk’s role in promoting his candidacy prompted internet users to migrate to rival apps such as Bluesky and Threads.