Several celebrities and commentators have announced their departure from social media platform X in the days after Vice President Kamala Harris decisively lost the election.
Elon Musk purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, two years ago in a bid to enable free speech for conservatives and others with views that differ from progressive institutions, and more recently heavily supported the campaign of President-Elect Donald Trump. The results of the election appeared to play a role in a number of departures from the social media platform.
Don Lemon, a former host on CNN who briefly launched a show on X, claimed he would leave the site because X made a change to their terms of service such that lawsuits will be heard in the predominantly conservative United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
“I once believed it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but now I feel it does not serve that purpose,” Lemon said in his announcement.
Jamie Lee Curtis, an actress and film producer, announced she would leave X without providing an explanation. Bette Midler, an actress and comedian, quietly deleted her account.
British news outlet The Guardian meanwhile said they would not post content on X, informing readers in an announcement that the “benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives” and that their “resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.”
The Guardian claimed that the presidential election “served only to underline” that X is a “toxic media platform” which Musk has used to shape American political discourse. “This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism,” the news outlet continued.
The presidential election was dominated by a pivot away from traditional media outlets as both Trump and Harris increasingly relied on popular podcasts and social media engagement to motivate their bases and reach more hesitant centrist voters. CNN and MSNBC have both witnessed their viewership substantially decline in the days after Trump won the election.
