Energy News
INTERNET SPACE
German defence ministry suspends posting on X platform
German defence ministry suspends posting on X platform
by AFP Staff Writers
Berlin (AFP) Jan 15, 2025
Germany's defence ministry said Wednesday it was suspending activities on social media platform X, which is accused of enabling the spread of disinformation under its owner Elon Musk.

The ministry said it "will no longer post proactively on the channel for the foreseeable future", justifying the move by saying that "the fact-based exchange of arguments is becoming increasingly difficult" on the platform.

The ministry is the latest of a host of public institutions in Germany to announce they will suspend activity on the platform formerly known as Twitter or leave it altogether.

Last week, more than 60 German universities said they were turning their backs on the site. Its "current direction is not compatible with the basic values of the institutions concerned -- openness to the world, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse", the grouping said.

The German defence ministry said that it "reserved the right to react on X in exceptional cases, such as to react to disinformation".

It said it would in the future use a channel on WhatsApp, owned by rival US tech company Meta, to proactively share information.

For the moment no other German ministry has said it would follow suit.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the chancellery was staying on X for now but admitted that it was a "difficult judgement".

The foreign ministry is also staying on the platform, spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said, while adding it was "continuously observing" the situation.

She said the ministry would "use other platforms more intensively, including Bluesky in both German and English".

The foreign ministry had reactivated its dormant account on X's rival on Tuesday with a message saying it "feels so great to be under bluer skies again".

Musk has stirred controversy by insulting German leaders and urging people to vote for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in next month's snap general election, a move which has been condemned across the political spectrum.

Last week X livestreamed a conversation between Musk and AfD leader Alice Weidel and two days later Musk shared a stream of the party's congress on his own X feed.

jsk/fz/sbk

X

Meta

Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
INTERNET SPACE
From ban to buyout: What next for TikTok in the US?
Washington (AFP) Jan 15, 2025
TikTok faces an imminent shutdown in the United States after Congress passed a law last year forcing its Chinese owner ByteDance to either sell the platform or close it on Sunday. The US Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on TikTok's challenge to the law. Following a hearing last Friday, expectations are high that the law will stand. Here is a review of what could happen next for TikTok in the United States. - App store ban - To execute a ban, the US government would direct ... read more

INTERNET SPACE
Breakthrough process converts CO2 and electricity into protein-rich food

The biobattery that needs to be fed

Breakthrough in sustainable energy with photochemical water oxidation

Significant progress in engineering biology for clean energy

INTERNET SPACE
Light flexible and radiation resistant organic solar cells for space

Biophotovoltaics: a step forward in sustainable energy technology

Floating solar panels could advance US energy goals

Research explores wildfire smoke's effect on solar power generation across US

INTERNET SPACE
Flinders University advances vertical wind turbine design

Secure cryptographic framework enhances collaboration in offshore wind energy

BP to 'significantly reduce' renewables investment

Baltic Sea wind farms impair Sweden's defence, says military

INTERNET SPACE
Climate science-denying energy secretary nominee calls for expanding U.S. energy sector

US energy firm Constellation to buy Calpine in $27 bn deal

How hard is it to prevent recurring blackouts in Puerto Rico?

US emissions stagnate in 2024, challenging climate goals: study

INTERNET SPACE
Small changes can dramatically boost efficacy of piezoceramics

Fresh, direct evidence for tiny drops of quark-gluon plasma

Unlocking the potential of lithium-sulfur batteries

Researchers make wearable materials that generate power and improve comfort

INTERNET SPACE
Oil spill reaches Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region: official

Heavy fuel oil makes Black Sea spill hard to clean up

The ancient copper industry in King Solomon's mines did not pollute the environment

Hazardous cargo ship represents 'no danger' to I. Coast, says port

INTERNET SPACE
Methane leaks from Nord Stream pipeline blasts revised up: studies

BP nears deals for oil fields, curbs on gas flaring in Iraq

Green hydrogen faces critical challenges in bridging ambition and reality

Nord Stream methane release highlights scale of emissions

INTERNET SPACE
NASA eyes SpaceX, Blue Origin to cut Mars rock retrieval costs

January's Night Sky Notes: The Red Planet

Evidence exists for hidden water reservoirs and rare magmas on ancient Mars

University of Houston scientists solving meteorological mysteries on Mars

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.