The accounts of the German Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces are leaving Elon Musk's platform.

The German Ministry of Defense and its subordinate organizations have temporarily halted the publication of content on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which is controlled by American billionaire Elon Musk.

Starting Wednesday, January 15, the German Ministry of Defense will not post statements or other materials on its account for the foreseeable future, the agency announced.

A similar decision has been made regarding the German Armed Forces' account on X and associated accounts, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

The reason for this decision is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in meaningful discussions on X, the Ministry of Defense explained.

Now, the German Ministry of Defense intends to more actively utilize its WhatsApp channel to inform the public about decisions and appointments, as well as other news.

In addition, press releases and information for the media will continue to be published as before, with updates to the agency's accounts on Instagram and other social media platforms, as well as the websites of the German Ministry of Defense and the Bundeswehr.

Long expert interviews on relevant topics will still be available on their YouTube channel, it was further noted.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense warned that it retains the option to post on X in exceptional cases, particularly in response to misinformation.

A few days ago, over 60 German-speaking universities and research institutions in Germany and Austria announced the closure of their accounts on X. They explained that the orientation of the social media platform is incompatible with their core values, such as "cosmopolitanism, scientific integrity, transparency, and democratic discourse."

Earlier, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, the Verdi trade union, and several other institutions and organizations announced their departure from X.

The German government also stated that they are "constantly discussing" the issue of abandoning accounts on the social media platform X due to concerns about its algorithms.

In Germany, there was strong criticism of a live stream that took place on X at the beginning of January, featuring Elon Musk and co-chair of the right-wing populist "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) Alice Weidel.

Other notable departures from X include: the British newspaper The Guardian, author Stephen King, fashion house Balenciaga, CNN anchor Don Lemon, comedian Greg Davis, and model Gigi Hadid.

Their example was followed by several German football clubs, including Hamburg's St. Pauli, which had 250,000 followers.

Following this, another German club, Werder Bremen, also decided to stop maintaining its account on X, which had 600,000 followers.

According to information from the tabloid Bild, several other Bundesliga clubs, including Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, Hannover, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Augsburg, and Hoffenheim, are currently considering ceasing their operations on X.

The German Volleyball Federation also left the platform.

Background. As reported, Elon Musk has been actively demonstrating support for pro-Russian and far-right extremist parties in Germany, promising generous financial assistance to help them gain seats in parliament after the elections scheduled for February 23.

Recall that German politicians were shaken by Elon Musk's post claiming that "only the AfD can save Germany." The German government called the American billionaire's interference just weeks before the elections "dishonorable and problematic."