Friend,

For years, Free Press has sought to hold social-media companies accountable for amplifying hate and lies that undermine public health, safety and democracy. We've pushed for meaningful reforms that would protect users and have extensively documented¹ the platforms' failures.² None of these companies has fallen so low as Twitter under Elon Musk's ownership.³

Twitter is now the premier platform for white supremacists, conspiracy theorists and all kinds of bigots.

Effective immediately, Free Press will no longer post on Twitter, and we invite you to join us in leaving the platform. We refuse to give any further legitimacy to Twitter or the tyrannical manchild who runs it.

We hope to stay connected with people who believe in Free Press' vision of a more just and democratic media system:

Musk, quite simply, does not share Free Press' commitment to ensuring that people have a voice in the decisions that shape our media system.⁴ He's reinstated neo-Nazi accounts and personally encouraged violent extremism. He's harassed organizations working to hold him accountable, burying them under lawsuit after lawsuit. He's forced the platform's algorithm to plaster his posts and pro-Republican content across unwitting users' feeds.⁵

We have fought to reform Twitter — including organizing the #StopToxicTwitter campaign two years ago — because we remember the community that it once had and the role it once played as a genuine public forum. Unfortunately, Musk's reckless weaponization of the platform endangers our democracy and especially the most vulnerable among us. It's clear that Twitter has no interest in course-correcting under this regime, and it's time for us all to exit.

To prevent malicious actors from impersonating Free Press, we will not delete our account, but we will no longer post on the platform. Instead, please consider staying in touch with us elsewhere:

You all contribute so much to this essential work, so we're confident we'll continue to see you around ... just not on Twitter.

—All of us at Free Press

P.S. Help Free Press keep fighting for safe online spaces: Donate today.

1. Democracy Deferred: Social-Media Companies’ Meager Commitments to Election Integrity in 2024, Free Press, April 25, 2024

2. Big Tech Backslide: How Social-Media Rollbacks Endanger Democracy Ahead of the 2024 Elections, Free Press, Dec. 2023

3. Tracking Platform Integrity on the Eve of the Election, Free Press, Oct. 31, 2024

4. “Elon Musk: The World's Worst Businessman,” Free Press, April 14, 2023

5. “A Study Found That X’s Algorithm Now Loves Two Things: Republicans and Elon Musk,” The Verge, Nov. 17, 2024