The German government on Friday justified its presence at X, before Twitterdespite doubts about the suitability of this platform and after its owner, Elon Muskcalled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz a “buffoon”.who said this Friday in Budapest who had not even taken note of the billionaire’s comment.
“Internet entrepreneurs are not state organs, and therefore I have not even taken note” of the message Musk’s message, he said at the press conference following the summit of the European Political Community held Thursday and Friday in the Hungarian capital.
The presence of the German Executive in this social network is a recurring theme, but for the moment the government believes that “it is appropriate to continue to be present in X”, said at a regular press conference the deputy spokeswoman of the German Executive, Christiane Hoffmann. He recalled that both the chancellor and government spokespersons are on X and added that social networks in general are a important medium for the Executive to explain and communicate its work.
Regarding Musk’s message on his X account following the breakup of the coalition government in Germanyin which he wrote in German “Olaf ist ein Narr” (Olaf is a jester), Hoffman merely said that “in X there is freedom for jesters“.
“And naturally we are concerned about what is happening in the social networks, especially in relation to the elections to the Bundestag” or German Lower House, which, according to the plan that the chancellor manages, should be held early next March, he added. In this regard, he indicated that the Federal Press Office has a social media monitoring program to be constantly aware of what is happening in them and what trends are gaining momentum.
“And we watch it very closely, in particular also the disinformation aspect,” both on X and all other channels, he said. He added that the German government has taken on the matter. a number of measures such as the creation of a new unit in the Ministry of the Interior, run jointly with the Foreign Office, the Federal Press Office and the Foreign Office, to prevent foreign disinformation.