Nieman Lab.
Predictions for
Journalism, 2024.
Elon Musk revealed his true colors and chased away all of X’s advertisers in 2023. In 2024, maintaining a relationship with the hate-drenched platform that was once a key communications tool used by newsrooms and authorities around the world will become even more untenable.
Should the imperiled social media company survive the crippling advertising boycott it is currently facing, Musk will find new and inventive ways to make the platform even more unusable for both average users and major figures alike in the media, sports, politics, and business worlds. And the billionaire conspiracy theorist’s own personal conduct will further alienate large organizations and notable luminaries, who will come to the realization that empowering him not only comes at a high cost to their own reputations, but is ethically indefensible.
How can public figures and organizations continue to maintain a relationship with a mercurial man who boosts debunked conspiracy theories as deranged as Pizzagate, smears the press, launches ugly attacks on figures like George Soros and organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, and elevates outright extremists?
The simple answer is they cannot. It is untenable. And, while most have refused to digest this news, perhaps as a function of Twitter’s former reputation and utility, the process is finally beginning. The platform’s largest advertisers have abandoned the company in droves. And now, there are early signs that influential users and companies are setting up shop elsewhere, namely Meta’s competitor platform, Threads.
The White House launched several accounts on Threads, paving the way for other government accounts to do the same. Top entertainment studios have stopped posting on X, instead pushing their content on Mark Zuckerberg’s rival platform, which offers sensible speech moderation policies. And notable figures, such as Stephen Colbert and Neil Young, have ceased their use of X and moved over to Threads.
In 2024, this trend will become more pronounced. Both Musk and X will continue to implode and drive away users. Threads, which is adding features at a rapid clip, will likely become the primary home of the X refugees.
Oliver Darcy is a senior media reporter for CNN.
Elon Musk revealed his true colors and chased away all of X’s advertisers in 2023. In 2024, maintaining a relationship with the hate-drenched platform that was once a key communications tool used by newsrooms and authorities around the world will become even more untenable.
Should the imperiled social media company survive the crippling advertising boycott it is currently facing, Musk will find new and inventive ways to make the platform even more unusable for both average users and major figures alike in the media, sports, politics, and business worlds. And the billionaire conspiracy theorist’s own personal conduct will further alienate large organizations and notable luminaries, who will come to the realization that empowering him not only comes at a high cost to their own reputations, but is ethically indefensible.
How can public figures and organizations continue to maintain a relationship with a mercurial man who boosts debunked conspiracy theories as deranged as Pizzagate, smears the press, launches ugly attacks on figures like George Soros and organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, and elevates outright extremists?
The simple answer is they cannot. It is untenable. And, while most have refused to digest this news, perhaps as a function of Twitter’s former reputation and utility, the process is finally beginning. The platform’s largest advertisers have abandoned the company in droves. And now, there are early signs that influential users and companies are setting up shop elsewhere, namely Meta’s competitor platform, Threads.
The White House launched several accounts on Threads, paving the way for other government accounts to do the same. Top entertainment studios have stopped posting on X, instead pushing their content on Mark Zuckerberg’s rival platform, which offers sensible speech moderation policies. And notable figures, such as Stephen Colbert and Neil Young, have ceased their use of X and moved over to Threads.
In 2024, this trend will become more pronounced. Both Musk and X will continue to implode and drive away users. Threads, which is adding features at a rapid clip, will likely become the primary home of the X refugees.
Oliver Darcy is a senior media reporter for CNN.
