The Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) has revealed that it will be severing ties with the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter ), marking the end of a 15-year relationship with the service. (Also Read | Rooney Mara debuts baby bump at Berlin Film Festival, expecting second child with Joaquin Phoenix ) The iconic festival, which will celebrate its 75th edition from February 13 to 24, 2025, made the announcement on Monday, stating that it would cease its presence on the platform by December 31, 2024. In a brief post shared on its official X account, the Berlinale stated, “The Berlinale has decided to say goodbye to X on Dec 31, 2024.
Thank you for following us here all these years. Stay connected with all things Berlinale on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and our website. See you there! #Berlinale.
” At the time of the announcement, the festival had accumulated 133.9K followers on X, where it had shared updates, news, and announcements about the prestigious event for over a decade. While the Berlinale did not provide an explicit reason for its departure, the decision comes amid growing concerns over the platform's handling of disinformation and the increasing presence of harmful or abusive content since Elon Musk's acquisition of X (then Twitter) in 2022.
According to Deadline, since Elon's ownership, the platform has faced widespread criticism for its handling of misinformation, hate speech, and abuse, leading many high-profile users and organizations .