Donald Trump's inauguration: “HelloQuitteX”, why Elon Musk's social network could lose thousands of users this Monday

For several weeks and a few hours before the inauguration of Donald Trump, the question has been on many lips: should we leave the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, and now owned by Elon Musk? The American billionaire, unwavering support of the new President of the United States, has been at the heart of numerous controversies for several months and has launched into a real conflict against numerous European democracies.

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“A way to influence opinion”

To try to counter this growing influence, an initiative was recently created: HelloQuitteX. His goal? Encourage an exodus to other social networks to free up digital spaces. “Under Elon Musk, It encourages users to “leave X on January 20, not before, not after, and mobilize your friends, your loved ones, your network on all platforms to join the movement and help us leave X”.

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According to the creators, abandoning Elon Musk's social network would mean collectively regaining control by favoring alternatives that respect freedom of expression. X has become the ideological tool of its owner where far-right ideas abound and actively participates in the sharing of Trumpist theses. “X has become a means of influencing opinion in the United States but also in Europe,” warns David Chavalarias, mathematician at the CNRS and the initiator of this HelloQuitteX.

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French politicians divided

The resonance of the movement is significant enough that all French political figures have been invited to give their opinion on the subject. The observation is clear, “public debate is a treasure, we must defend it. It is not acceptable that our elections are disrupted by social networks”, declared this Monday, January 20, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Foreign Affairs , on BFMTV. After this assessment, who is ready to abandon X?

Last week, Sandrine Rousseau invited her parliamentary colleagues to close their accounts on this social network. The environmentalist MP will leave X this Monday, January 20. This is not the case for the Minister Delegate for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, who wrote… on . Most public figures hesitate, with only a few figures like Anne Hidalgo having dared to take the plunge.

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What solutions?

A question remains: how can we do without X, an essential reference in political and media debate? Some have already made this decision, like our colleagues from Quotidien, Sud-Ouest or even Ouest-France? Town halls, elected officials and even departments, like that of Gers, have also made this choice, at the cost of an almost certain drop in audience. In France, X is the fifth most used social network, with around 12 million users.

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To replace the old Twitter, answers already exist and are offered by HelloQuitteX. The movement advises and offers solutions to “transfer your audience from X to BlueSky and/or Mastodon. Find those you follow in a few clicks”. “These two American platforms attract those nostalgic for Twitter, without however officially replacing X.