I noted earlier, of VP Harris’s VP selection:

The pick was announced on Instagram first, a full ten minutes before it was released on X/Twitter. This is good. Politicians (and others) need to deemphasize Musk’s awful site when breaking news.

Jason Sattler, AKA LOLGOP, guest posting on framelab:

Go “Twitter Last.” Campaigns from Harris for President on down should clarify that they will post to Twitter only after updating other platforms. Steering the media away from Twitter helps democracy. Announcing you will make news elsewhere will send reporters and users to these other platforms, as will every announcement the media makes that says, “As the campaign noted on BlueSky…” etc. Political strategist Murshed Zaheed calls this going “Twitter Last.” A huge announcement – like naming a vice presidential nominee – would be a great time to try this strategy.

This has been on my mind since President Biden announced his decision to step down as the nominee, and to endorse VP Harris, on X/Twitter. I’m glad to see Harris “took” the advice.

Sattler summarizes the problem with using X/Twitter:

There has never been a threat to democracy quite like Elon Musk. Now is a great time to stop helping him.

Announcing on X/Twitter, or even just using it, gives power to a platform and a person very much biased against democracy. As Sattler explains, the issue is Musk himself:

The Tesla CEO emerged as the most prominent supporter of Donald Trump who isn’t on the Supreme Court (or isn’t Vladimir Putin). And no one has taken Kamala Harris’s exuberant rise worse than Elon. Possibly not even Trump.

Musk’s weaponization of Twitter in the information war worsens daily, using tactics pioneered by Trump.

So why do politicians, pundits, and journalists remain—and break news—on X/Twitter? Inertia, says Sattler:

Let’s be honest. For many people, Twitter is the “sunk-cost social network” for those who don’t want to learn a new platform or give up the following or news feed they may have spent more than a decade building.

He notes:

Unfortunately, despite its dwindling audience, Twitter remains a hub for many of the nation’s top journalists, celebrities, and influencers. Their credibility heightens Musk’s unprecedented perch in society. He’s a mogul as powerful as Rupert Murdoch with a voice louder than any cable news pundit.

In January 2023, Dan Gillmore wrote that Journalists (And Others) Should Leave Twitter. Here’s How They Can Get Started; his advice for journalists holds for politicians too, and for anyone who wants to loosen the grip of Elon Musk on our global discourse.

It’s doesn’t really matter whether you join Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads; pick one or two, and find your people. I’ve settled on Mastodon, but I have Bluesy and Threads accounts too. The more people who depart X/Twitter, the less mass remains to keep people there, and the better we’ll be long term.