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'Ouest-France' is first French newspaper to stop posting on X

It is the latest in a string of European publications to suspend posts on the social media platform.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

French regional daily Ouest-France, the top-selling paper in the country, is the latest in a string of European publications to suspend posts on X, formerly Twitter, reports RFI.

The social media platform is accused of enabling the spread of disinformation under its owner Elon Musk, an ally of US president-elect Donald Trump.

"We are not against social networks, we are simply asking for the application of the law" on X, Francois-Xavier Lefranc, chairman of the board of Ouest-France, told French news agency AFP on Tuesday.

He added that the decision was taken "fairly unanimously internally".

The daily, which is targeted at France's vast western region and still sells over 600,000 paper copies a day, is the first French daily to quit X after Britain's The GuardianLa Vanguardia in Spain and Dagens Nyheter in Sweden.

Sports clubs have also begun turning away from the platform.

On Tuesday, German football club Werder Bremen joined fellow Bundesliga side St Pauli in leaving X, citing an "incredible" increase in "hate speech" since it was bought by Musk in 2022.

Read more of this report from RFI.