Elon Musk’s political career sees celebrity exodus from X

November 18, 2024 64 1

Several celebrities are leaving Elon Musk’s app, X, as he gears up for his career in Donald Trump’s administration.

US President-elect, Trump, named the South African-born billionaire as one of the officials who will lead the inaugural Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump defeated US Vice President, Kamala Harris, in the November 5 election.

Musk will spearhead the department with former Republican presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy.

Trump says the division will provide advice and guidance from outside the government and will partner with the White House to drive structural reform.

The prominent figures accuse Musk of using his social media app to influence and shape political discourse.

Actress Gabrielle Union is one of the prominent figures who’ve ditched the app.

In a string of posts and goodbyes, Oscar-winning director, Guillermo del Toro, pop star Lizzo, Ben Stiller, Jamie Lee Curtis, and George Takei were among those who pressed the deactivate button.

British news agency, The Guardian, announced that it will no longer be posting on X.

“We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter). We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.”

“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 agency says X users will still be able to share their articles.

I’m leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic. Follow me on Threads, if you like.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 14, 2024

Effective immediately, any comments I post will be on Bluesky. #TwitterExodus https://t.co/DZOXQAJoWA

— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) November 15, 2024