German broadcaster DW says it will close half of its X accounts

Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle said Tuesday it will shut down around half of its accounts on the US social media platform X, citing budget cuts and concerns over a harmful atmosphere on the platform.

“The decision is linked to savings requirements and broader adjustments to DW’s digital offerings,” the state-funded broadcaster said in a statement, adding that it will direct its followers to alternative digital and social platforms.

DW management said the broadcaster must cut a total of €21 million (about $24 million) from this year’s budget due to funding reductions and pay raises under the current collective bargaining deal, meaning it cannot keep running all the existing accounts.

“Alongside financial factors, editorial considerations also influenced the decision,” the broadcaster said. “Among other things, dealing with disinformation and hate speech, the growing presence of extremist content, and limited moderation options have made editorial work on X more challenging.”

DW said it will gradually close a number of accounts and stop providing editorial support for them, including @dwnews, @dw_europe, @dw_conflictzone, and several language and program-specific profiles.

DW’s move follows similar steps by other German media outlets. In March, Suddeutsche Zeitung, one of the country’s best-known dailies, ended its activity on X despite having around 1.7 million followers. The paper said the platform no longer allowed “constructive public dialogue” and directed readers to alternative channels.

Since billionaire Elon Musk took over the platform in 2022, X has faced sustained criticism in Germany and Europe over concerns about weak content moderation, including far-right propaganda, hate speech, and disinformation.

The European Commission has also launched several formal investigations into X and imposed penalties for violations of the Digital Services Act.

In the US and other countries, many users -- complaining of hate speech, disinformation, and racism -- have abandoned X for alternate platforms such as Bluesky.