EFF is leaving X • Hacker News Board

Re: EFF is leaving X

#551

Post by paulnpace » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:13 PM UTC

paulbjensen wrote: post #333

There does seem to be evidence that X (formerly Twitter) is a dying platform, but what surprised me here is that longtime platforms like Snapchat, Reddit and even Pinterest get more MAUs than X - and this is more October 2025: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-net... It would be really interesting to learn if brands and advertisers are seeing the same thing?

Reddit is on the first page or at the top for well over half of my searches. Sometimes I find myself in complete physical-memory typing -site:reddit.com.

Re: EFF is leaving X

#552

Post by bpt3 » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:13 PM UTC

nostrademons wrote: post #213

Brendinooo wrote: post #20

That statement pretty clearly shows that they have certain ideological concerns that they value more highly than the kind of stuff we tend to think the EFF primarily cares about (digital privacy, open source, patent trolling, etc). Through that lens, I guess it makes sense that they see TikTok, Instagram, and BlueSky as worth their time and presence but not X.

I had the opposite impression, that this decision was primarily economic in nature. People (or at least the sort of people interested in the EFF) simply aren't on X/Twitter anymore, and so it's not worth posting there.

What is the cost of posting to X in addition to Tiktok, Bluesky, and Facebook? If it's not effectively $0, it should be.

This is completely performative, and I personally don't think it's the best move.

Re: EFF is leaving X

#553

Post by rockemsockem » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:14 PM UTC

spicymaki wrote: post #236

Ir0nMan wrote: post #22

This reads as very performative. You don't have to choose between posting 10 times a day or deleting your account; you could just post less or use it for major updates.

Performative expression is critical. You need to actually do the thing you believe and if it is of political significance say it and do it visibly. Otherwise there is no impact.

If you do that constantly then people rightly start to write off your performances as insignificant. Everyone should pick their battles because we all have a limited number of fucks to give about what anyone else does.

Re: EFF is leaving X

#554

Post by arionhardison » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:14 PM UTC

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Re: EFF is leaving X

#555

Post by i_love_retros » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:15 PM UTC

Brendinooo wrote: post #20

That statement pretty clearly shows that they have certain ideological concerns that they value more highly than the kind of stuff we tend to think the EFF primarily cares about (digital privacy, open source, patent trolling, etc). Through that lens, I guess it makes sense that they see TikTok, Instagram, and BlueSky as worth their time and presence but not X.

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Re: EFF is leaving X

#556

Post by adipose » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:16 PM UTC

mellosouls wrote: post #19

If they justify it in terms of reach and impressions then say they will still be on BlueSky and Mastodon then you know it's purely ideological. Which is fine but just be honest about it.

can you clarify what the ideology is and how they are not being honest about it

Re: EFF is leaving X

#557

Post by gulfofamerica » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:18 PM UTC

0ckpuppet wrote: post #500

Legend2440 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EFF is and has always been a political activist organization. Of course they care about ideological concerns.

just not twitter censorship

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Re: EFF is leaving X

#558

Post by dzhiurgis » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:18 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #118

My grandparents were pretty WASPy, conservative people who lived in northern Idaho. And they hated the white supremacist/neonazi groups up there with a burning passion. They were of an age to remember people going off to fight in Germany and Asia against that kind of ideology. They would have been absolutely appalled and ashamed to see a business leader throwing those salutes and backing it up with talk of a "white h…

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Re: EFF is leaving X

#559

Post by davidw » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:19 PM UTC

romanhn wrote: post #504

LastTrain wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Idaho I know loads of people and family who I would have bet would reject what is happening in today’s Republican Party but man was I wrong. With very few exceptions they gobble it up.

North Idaho specifically has been a hub for white power movements for a while: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/mar/27/north-idaho-an...

That timeline leaves out the bombs around Coeur d'Alene.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/01/Coeur-dAlene-bombing...

I specifically remember my dad talking to his parents about that one on the phone and being scared for them.

Like my other comment below though, part of the reason they resorted to violence is because at that time, they had no hope of participating in mainstream, electoral politics.

Re: EFF is leaving X

#560

Post by PunchyHamster » Thu, Apr 09, 2026, 8:19 PM UTC

spicymaki wrote: post #236

Ir0nMan wrote: post #22

This reads as very performative. You don't have to choose between posting 10 times a day or deleting your account; you could just post less or use it for major updates.

Performative expression is critical. You need to actually do the thing you believe and if it is of political significance say it and do it visibly. Otherwise there is no impact.

Not being able to respond or comment to problems the foundation stands for on the most popular platform is... not that