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Englishعربي
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a leading nonprofit advocating for digital privacy and rights, announced on Thursday that it is leaving X after nearly 20 years on the platform, citing a drastic 97% drop in engagement that has made it ineffective for outreach. According to EFF's social media manager Kenyatta Thomas in the organization's blog post, posts that once generated 50 to 100 million impressions per month in 2018 now yield far less: 2,500 posts in 2024 produced about 2 million monthly impressions, while 1,500 posts in 2025 earned just 13 million for the entire year.[1][2] A single X post today receives less than 3% of the views a tweet did seven years ago, rendering the platform a poor use of resources despite EFF's 2.5 million followers there.[2][4]
Thomas emphasized that the decision "wasn't made lightly" but acknowledged it "might be overdue," as "the math hasn't worked out for a while now." As reported by The Verge and Slashdot, EFF had posted five to ten times daily in its peak years but saw views plummet sharply, prompting the exit effective immediately.[1][2] The group plans to redirect efforts to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and the open social web, clarifying that maintaining a presence elsewhere does not endorse those services' policies.
This move positions EFF as the latest high-profile organization to abandon X, following news outlets such as NPR, PBS, The Guardian, and Le Monde, along with academics, celebrities, and local governments that have deemed the platform unviable for traffic and visibility.[1][3] TechCrunch highlighted how these departures reflect broader dissatisfaction with X's algorithm, which has throttled organic reach, turning what was once a vital communication hub into a low-return endeavor.[1][3] Discussions on Hacker News, amassing hundreds of comments, debated whether such exits signal the fragmentation of social media and challenge digital advocacy in a landscape without a dominant platform.[2][5]
The departure underscores X's evolving challenges since its 2022 ownership change, including the disbanding of teams focused on human rights and resisting government censorship demands, which some observers link to reduced visibility for nonprofit content.[4] For EFF, whose mission centers on protecting online freedoms, losing reach on X hampers its ability to alert supporters to threats like surveillance and censorship. Affected audiences—activists, tech enthusiasts, and privacy advocates—may now need to follow EFF across multiple platforms, complicating engagement.
Looking ahead, EFF's shift aligns with a wider trend of organizations diversifying channels to adapt to changing user behaviors and algorithm shifts, as noted in coverage from Mezha Media.[3] While X remains a space for some discourse, its declining utility for groups like EFF raises questions about the platform's role in public debate on digital rights. Other nonprofits and publishers may follow suit if engagement continues to erode, potentially accelerating migrations to alternatives like Bluesky or the Fediverse.[4]