German Defense Ministry and Army leave X due to conflict with Musk

Author:
Anastasiia Mohylevets
Date:

The German Ministry of Defense and the Bundeswehr have temporarily suspended their accounts on the X social network. They explain this by saying that discussing on the platform is "becoming increasingly difficult".

This is reported by Politico.

The decision to leave the platform comes days after its owner, American billionaire Elon Musk, chatted on X with Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Following the move, Berlinʼs Defense Ministry will discuss whether all institutions should stop using the social network.

Two German unions and the Federal Court also said they would freeze their accounts. The Ministry of Defense will not switch to Bluesky, a popular alternative to X, but will instead continue to distribute content on Instagram, YouTube and a WhatsApp channel.

  • Musk supported the AfD back in December 2024. He criticizes German politicians on social media. Musk called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier an “anti-democratic tyrant” and Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “idiot”.
  • At the same time, the billionaire considers the AfD to be “the only force that can save the country”. In January 2025, he conducted a live broadcast on X with Weidel, urging German voters to vote for the AfD in the upcoming elections. After that, dozens of universities and research institutions in Germany and Austria boycotted the social network.
  • Alice Weidel has become the candidate for the position of Chancellor of Germany from her political force. Early elections will be held on February 23.

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