The Free Software Foundation Europe deleted its account on X

Nature and trajectory of X/Twitter

• Several commenters argue Twitter “always” had hostility and manipulation; Musk’s tenure made that manipulation blatant, especially with an algorithm that rewards outrage-bait and blue-check clickbait over substantive posts.
• Others say their curated feeds (mostly artists/tech) remain fine and that any large social media has hate; they see Mastodon as at least as full of political hostility.
• Disagreement over whether X is uniquely bad or simply less censorious of right/anti‑establishment views than competitors.

FSFE’s decision: principles vs reach

• Supporters see leaving X as consistent with free software, privacy, and anti‑centralization values, especially given perceived increases in hate, misinformation, and profit‑driven control.
• Critics note Twitter was always proprietary and misaligned with those values; they question “why now” and see the announcement as political positioning rather than a free‑software‑driven decision.
• Some frame it as a moral boycott of Musk; others say organizations are allowed to factor staff well‑being and hostility into their calculus, not just mission reach.

Effectiveness, audience, and fragmentation

• Many argue departure reduces FSFE’s ability to reach “normal people,” who are unlikely to follow them to Mastodon or PeerTube; some think this makes the organization more insular and less relevant.
• Others counter that X’s algorithmic throttling and toxic replies meant their real reach there may already have been minimal.
• Broader discussion notes the post‑2019 fragmentation of audiences across Discord, Instagram, Bluesky, Mastodon, etc., eroding Twitter’s former centrality.

Moral responsibility, Musk, and complicity

• A strong contingent views continued X use as tacit support for Musk, described by some as racist, fascist, or dangerously manipulative; every click is framed as funding him.
• Opponents reject this as performative purity politics, insisting individuals and orgs should choose platforms pragmatically without being shamed.

Safety, hate, and moderation

• Personal reports describe slower or weaker enforcement against slurs and antisemitism post‑Musk, plus algorithmic boosting of paying users and of Musk himself.
• Others insist X is no worse than Reddit/Facebook and that “racism and hate” is sometimes used as shorthand for unpopular opinions.
• Some see a chilling trend of organizations prioritizing “misinformation” and hate‑speech policing over being ideologically open while focusing on software freedom.

Account squatting and practicalities

• Debate over whether FSFE should have left a non‑monitored placeholder account to prevent impersonation, given X’s handle re‑use policies.
• Some argue even a placeholder lends legitimacy to a platform they want to delegitimize; others think a redirect-with-explanation would have been safer for users.