this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2026
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People leaving Twitter now is not very impressive. Less "seeing the light" and more "Trumpgret".
I'll remind you that the Debian project left Twitter over a year ago. So the EFF isn't as fast moving or comfortable with change like ... Debian.
From their mastodon:
I will say that double posting is a completely reasonable solution. More orgs should be the gateway where they can be seen, and have the visibility of the big platforms, but they also offer Mastodon as an alternative. If enough orgs do that, it enables people to just... move.
It's hard for users to move when 75% of their content is exclusive to X. And it's hard for orgs to move when 75% of the users are on X. Double posting allows this to move to 10% X exclusive content, 60% content that's available everywhere, and 10% exclusive to open platforms. After the orgs move the content, it's so much easier for users to move, and after the users move, it's easier for the orgs to move.
This should be a cooperative thing. And afaik it doesn't take that much effort to post the content to two places.
That's why people have found out recently that existing on legacy and new way better platforms is good way to get accustomed to new ones. Along with to keep bringing people in to do the same of having one foot on both sides
There are plenty of mainstream platforms to reach such people on that aren't owned by (openly) Nazi billionaires.
Hence why this article is about them leaving the openly Nazi billionaire's platform while remaining on other platforms that are mainstream and still provide a lot of reach :)
Yah, it's the EFF, they get significant latitude from their history.
As they should.
A non-profit that fights daily for our electronic freedoms can leave X whenever they damn well please. They decided today was that day and I am perfectly fine with that.
EFF is one of the orgs I often donate to.
And the argument is sound even without appeal to authority. You’re so right!
Exactly, and these platforms are only mainstream now, many of them had much smaller userbases before the X takeover of Twitter.
There's nothing wrong with preaching to Nazis. Sure, most aren't likely to really listen, but they are the people who need to hear this most.
You don't write people off because they're wrong, you correct them.
More over, most of the people there are lurkers. Our comments should be directed to them.
Name one single mainstream (i.e. >10 million users) platform that isn't owned by a nazi pedophile billionaire.
Yeah, that's why I included the word 'openly' in there.
X is owned by a wannabe pedophile from what the Epstein files showed, so maybe X is the only one?
Zuckerberg and Gates own the only other mainstream social media sites. While the fediverse is neat, the entirety of all federated services, including the pretty failed launch of bluesky, is less than the userbase of just facebook, in just the Philippines.
And both of them are pedophiles, and while I don't know if Gates is a nazi, Zuckerberg absolutely is.
Also reddit, I guess, u/spez is a nazi, and reddit had the longest running clearweb jailbait site in world history so...
So you're making my point?
Oh I see, you think musk is only a wannabe pedophile. Grok says otherwise.
Eh he is a big failure, and failed up his whole life just like DJT. They managed to fail at being human beings with empathy, but musk is so awkward he failed to get an invite to the oedo parties.
That was valid back in, like, 2020. Everyone who ever had an interest in leaving their gilded cage, who needed help, already had more than enough time to choose. The people who stay over there now ,are because they choose to be beyond salvation.
Sure, but advocates for prison reform don't have to be incarcerated.
But they also should visit and be able to interact with prisons lmao.
This is not a contest to be holier than thou. It's a numbers game.
EFF stayed on Twitter because it has a larger audience and that means a larger portion of people will see their messaging. In fact, I would argue that the people that are still on Twitter are the ones most in need of seeing those messages. The people that care about what Debian is posting are almost certainly already on Mastadon.
This is the Fediverse. Everything is a contest of "holier than thou"
I feel like the EFF's messaging is just not going to get through to anyone still on Twitter.
Remember, it's not a fair forum; it's an algorithm. And it's not going to show the EFF to users who need to see it.
The problem is that the fundamental catch-22 of social networks is that the content and the users reinforce each other. Self-hating/regretting Twitter/X users exist, but they are there because there are network effects, including organizations who still also use it, they are not willing to give up. Similar organizations are there because the users are still there. And yes, I do think they still see the people they want because of follows/subscriptions, even if alt-right fascism is also being thrown into their feed by the algorithm.
It sucks so many people haven't left yet, but that's why every choice to leave is worth celebrating, because it breaks down the long-term network effects every time, even at the cost of short-term value to the users or orgs.
To illustrate what I mean more clearly, look at the top comments/replies for the NASA Artemis posts, as an example.
...It's basically all conspiracy theorists, and government skeptics.
Twitter's focusing the Artemis posts on them because it's what they want to see, and most engaging for them.
In the EFF's case, I'm not just talking about Musk's influence. The algorithm will only show the EFF to users who would be highly engaged by it. E.g., angry skeptics who wouldn't be swayed by the EFF anyway, or fans who already agree with the EFF. It's literally not going to show the EFF to people who need to see it, as Twitter's metrics would show it as unengaging.
This is the "false image" I keep trying to dispel. Twitter is less and less an "even spread" of exposure like people think it is, like it sort of used to be, more-and-more a hyper focused bubble of what you want to hear, and only what you want to hear. All the changes Musk is making are amplifying that. Maybe that's fine for some orgs, but there's no point in the EFF staying in that kind of environment, regardless of ethics.
The what you want to see is truer than u think. I'm on all the fediverse sites but still use x for sports stuff mostly. If u like a post about say wild flowers that sneaks in it feels. If u refresh suddenly its full of wildflower posts in an instant. It works so quickly.
*and only what Elon Musk wants you to hear.
I was listening to a podcast (informal morning show from one of the guys who founded roosterteeth) and he talked about how he got off Twitter and Facebook and everything well before the pandemic... but has been needing to get back on them just to connect with others in his community.
Right people need to understand the algorithm is biased and the company is going to prioritize it's world view over the average persons.
I don’t believe in Trumpgret.
Their hearts haven’t changed, they just don’t like being hated.
We are seeing this a lot with podcast/youtube people, like Alex Jones.
It doesn’t matter what they say now, they begged for him to be elected. They chose him and are responsible.
I believe first term Trumpgret to be more that they thought Trump was going to do things about [insert dumb ideology here] and he turned out to be [dumb ideology] personified, but they still believe in [dumb ideology]. Not that they regret the things he's doing, more that this he not doing enough of.
For example, drain the swamp. They thought he was going to get rid of Democrats who they thought were the swamp. It turned out during his first term he needed some Democrat support so he met in the middle and that pissed them off and then associated him with the swamp too.
Or building the wall and making Mexico pay for it. It turns out only a small portion got built, and came from US or private (not even his) funding.
Second term Trumpgret from everyday MAGA i agree, i don't really believe anyone truly regrets voting for him, just that they are now hated by their loved ones, and they don't see the direct causes of them voting for him and his actions hurting their loved ones, therefore their loved ones cut off contact.
Trumpgret from the likes of Alex Jones, i believe comes from a place of they never really believed in the it from the start, they just saw the easy grift and now the easy money is to jump off the bandwagon.
Progress is progress. As any sane people would repeat: perfect is not the enemy of good.
I think sane people say the opposite - perfect is the enemy of good. OCD motherfuckers like me try to rationalize perfect as not being the enemy of good, but we are usually wrong.