Berlin Film Festival to sever ties with Elon Musk's X amid growing concerns over platform's handling of disinformation

The iconic festival, which will celebrate its 75th edition from February 13 to 24, 2025, made the announcement on Monday.

Published on: Nov 5, 2024, 12:08:22 IST

ANIEdited by Ananya Das

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The Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) has revealed that it will be severing ties with the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), marking the end of a 15-year relationship with the service. (Also Read | Rooney Mara debuts baby bump at Berlin Film Festival, expecting second child with Joaquin Phoenix)

Berlin Film Festival accumulated 133.9K followers on X.

The iconic festival, which will celebrate its 75th edition from February 13 to 24, 2025, made the announcement on Monday, stating that it would cease its presence on the platform by December 31, 2024.

In a brief post shared on its official X account, the Berlinale stated, “The Berlinale has decided to say goodbye to X on Dec 31, 2024. Thank you for following us here all these years. Stay connected with all things Berlinale on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and our website. See you there! #Berlinale.”

At the time of the announcement, the festival had accumulated 133.9K followers on X, where it had shared updates, news, and announcements about the prestigious event for over a decade.

While the Berlinale did not provide an explicit reason for its departure, the decision comes amid growing concerns over the platform's handling of disinformation and the increasing presence of harmful or abusive content since Elon Musk's acquisition of X (then Twitter) in 2022.

According to Deadline, since Elon's ownership, the platform has faced widespread criticism for its handling of misinformation, hate speech, and abuse, leading many high-profile users and organizations to reconsider their involvement.

Recent weeks have seen Elon actively engage in political discourse, including vocal support for US presidential candidate Donald Trump, which has further polarized opinion about the platform's direction.

The decision echoes that of Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, who similarly announced in 2023 that he would personally be leaving X.

As per Deadline, Alberto cited a "weakened desire" to remain on a platform whose goals no longer aligned with his own, though he did not elaborate on specific comments that led to his decision.

However, the Venice Biennale, which organizes the Venice Film Festival, continues to maintain a presence on X, despite Alberto's exit from the platform.

As part of its continued engagement with audiences, the Berlin Film Festival emphasized that it would maintain its presence on other popular social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and its official website.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ananya Das
Ananya Das works as Deputy Chief Content Producer with the digital platform of Hindustan Times. She has worked as a journalist for over 13 years, writing about news, movies, lifestyle, celebrities, web series and has a keen interest in K-pop. Ananya has been working with Hindustan Times for nearly five years now. A BA (Hons) in English from Gauhati Univerity, Ananya is also an IIMC Delhi (2013) alum. She has worked in both print journalism and, after working there for some time, she joined the digital platform. Ananya has learnt accuracy, objectivity, deadlines and prioritises verifying facts, maintains ethical standards by being fair and impartial, and works quickly, which is required for digital media.Read More

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