NOS may ditch “unpleasant” X after first broadcaster quits for “persistent racist” posts

NOS is also considering stopping using the “unpleasant” social media platform X, NOS Nieuws editor-in-chief Giselle van Cann said in the NPO Radio 1 program Spraakmakers. The broadcaster KRO-NCRV announced on Monday that it was quitting X. The broadcaster made this decision after Omroep Zwart CEO Akwasi, who participated in De slimste mens, was the target of hateful and racist expression on the platform for several evenings.

“It is being talked about,” said Van Cann, calling the topic “an issue.”

In any case, NOS will stop posting calls on X to respond to programs. “X is, of course, no longer a great platform for interaction. So I actually don’t think we should keep doing that,” said Van Cann. “So we are going to stop. There are not very many responses, and the responses that come in are often unpleasant. And they do not invite a conversation. It is not a platform where you can have a nice conversation.”

On Monday, KRO-NCRV said it would immediately quit X due to the “persistent, often anonymous, hateful and downright racist statements made on X.”

“In my view, X has increasingly become a socially disruptive platform,” CEO Peter Kuipers said about the decision. As an example, he mentioned last week when Akwasi from Omroep Zwart was a candidate on the program De slimste mens. “Every evening, #Akwasi was trending on X due to all the racist and negative posts. As KRO-NCRV, we stand for a society in which we live together in harmony, a connected society. A social media channel that seems to give its users every opportunity for polarization and racism does not fit in with this.”

Kuipers hopes that other broadcasters and media companies will also take the step to stop using X. KRO-NCRV and its programs will remain active on other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

“This, too, is the Netherlands,” Omroep Zwart responded on Instagram on Monday to the many racist reactions. “Everything that we do not stand for. But exactly for this reason, ZWART exists. To straighten out what is wrong. We exist, but we are not there yet - that is clear.”

Several media companies indicate that they are also considering quitting the media platform X, according to ANP questions following KRO-NCRV’s decision. The NPO said it was “thinking about it” but had not made a decision yet. BNNVARA and AVROTROS are considering the idea of leaving. The VPRO said that it sees “the problematic side” of X. The AD has also been “looking critically at the platform for some time,” said chief editor Rennie Rijpma.

X could not be reached for comment.