EFF is the latest organization to leave X

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) announced its departure from X (formerly Twitter) after nearly 20 years, citing a significant decrease in engagement and impressions from posts. This trend reflects broader concerns among organizations about X's capability to drive traffic, with EFF observing that views on its posts dropped drastically from millions to mere thousands. The decline aligns with an ongoing exodus of major accounts and organizations from the platform under Elon Musk's ownership.

Key Points

• EFF left X after nearly 20 years due to declining engagement, with posts' impressions dropping from 50-100 million per month in 2018 to about 2 million in 2024.
• The decision was made after observing that an X post now receives less than 3% of views compared to seven years ago, making it ineffective for their outreach.
• Nikita Bier, X's head of product, and Nate Silver quarreled over engagement strategies, highlighting X's inability to send significant traffic to publishers.
• Various high-profile exits from X followed, including news organizations like NPR and PBS, often due to Musk's policies and mislabeling as 'state-affiliated media'.
• The shift in online consumer behavior and the rise of AI have diminished traffic to news sites, contributing to financial struggles within the industry.

Relevance

• The trend of organizations leaving social media platforms mirrors historical shifts in media, seen during upheavals such as Facebook's algorithm changes negatively impacting news publishers.
• 2025 IT trends indicate a growing caution among organizations using platforms dominated by misinformation and decreasing traffic, paralleling the EFF's rationale for leaving X.
• This context highlights ongoing debates about internet governance and the power of social media platforms over public discourse and engagement.

EFF's exit from X underscores the platform's struggles, reflecting a significant trend among organizations reevaluating their digital presence and engagement strategies under an environment marked by declining traffic and changing social dynamics.