On her way out, Anne Hidalgo managed to say some nasty stuff, calling X/Twitter a “gigantic global sewer” that was “destroying our democracies” by spreading “abuse” and “misinformation” (via Reuters).
She posted a lengthy tweet about her decision in both French and English, here’s the English version:
Why I am leaving Twitter.
I have made the decision to leave Twitter.
Twitter, far from being the groundbreaking medium that initially made information accessible to the greatest possible number of people, has in recent years become an impressive tool for destroying our… pic.twitter.com/3CcHQVnz5p
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) November 27, 2023
If someone stops and thinks about what City of Love’s current shape is and compares that to what the city looked like, let’s say, 50 years ago, it turns out it’s a major irony that none other than the mayor of Paris is raging about sewers. Mind you, that’s the same mayor whose administration decided in 2023 to ditch the plan to combat Paris’ rat problem and instead opt for a more peaceful “state of coexistence” with the rodents. Rats were responsible for the mass proliferation of the bubonic plague that wiped out nearly half the city’s population in the 14th century.Back to Hidalgo’s beef with X/Twitter:
Whether it be manipulation, disinformation, the fostering of hatred, harassment, anti-Semitism and open racism, or vicious attacks on scientists, climatologists, women, environmentalists, liberals and all those of good will who wish to engage in peaceful political debate in an increasingly complex world, the range of abuses is endless
She then goes on to accuse X/Twitter of meddling in elections: “Not to mention the daily external meddling in electoral processes, aimed at destabilizing our democracies and undermining their image and sovereignty”.
Speaking of elections, last year Anne Hidalgo was a presidential candidate in France and she received 1.7% of the vote. This is the lowest result a presidential candidate for the centre-left Socialist Party (PS-S&D) has ever received in the first round.
