European disease center considers leaving X due to 'disinformation, misinformation'

ANKARA

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is considering quitting the social media platform X, its chief told Politico on Tuesday.

ECDC director Pamela Rendi-Wagner said X, formally Twitter, was fueling both disinformation and misinformation, according to Politico.

She said the ECDC was discussing a possible withdrawal, as prominent accounts with large followings did after Donald Trump's election as the US president for a second term.

Rendi-Wagner also deplored a loss of trust in scientific institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic and noted that social media was nurturing scientific misinformation.

The ECDC director, however, added that social media cannot be considered entirely bad, as it helps reach out to broader groups of people and communities.

The recent trend of quitting X is largely driven by concerns over owner Elon Musk's close relationship with the US president-elect.

The British daily The Guardian said it will stop posting on X. The German football club St. Pauli and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a London-based hate speech watchdog, announced that they will leave the platform.