Russia is notorious for using social media for domestic and international propaganda, including spreading disinformation to influence foreign elections and undermine support for Ukraine. The 2024 Romanian presidential election became a test case for cyber-enabled election interference. A wave of disinformation, especially via TikTok and Telegram, helped boost far-right, pro-Kremlin candidate Călin Georgescu, who was relatively unknown but suddenly surged in the polls.
While in the United States, the politicization of commonly used social media platforms has reached unprecedented levels in the West, with Elon Musk’s transformation of X fundamentally altering the landscape of democratic discourse. Since acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, Musk has systematically weaponized the platform for political influence, despite his initial pledge that X would be “politically neutral”.
Elon Musk has openly expressed strong support for far-right German politician Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Since acquiring Twitter and rebranding it as X, Musk has used the platform to promote the AfD’s messaging, significantly boosting their visibility and influence ahead of the 2025 German federal election. Engagement metrics on X, such as views, retweets, and followers, have shown disproportionate amplification of Musk’s personal account and those aligned with Republican-leaning politicians, especially in the lead-up to the 2024 US presidential election. “When these algorithms are controlled by companies that do not share our European values, the platforms behind them can quickly become effective tools of propaganda”, noticed Tiemo Wölken - MEP, affiliated with the German Social Democrats (SPD). “This is no longer just a fringe issue, but a matter that strikes at the very heart of the future of our democracy.”
Is EU regulation working?
As social media continues to play a central role in shaping public discourse and political dynamics, the European Union is taking up the fight against the dominance and influence of these major social media platforms. Among initiatives: The Digital Service Act (DSA) which aims to enhance online safety by requiring removal of illegal content, transparency and strengthening user protection and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that ensures regulation of the gatekeeper power of the largest digital companies to ensure fair competition.
However, according to Wölken, the problem lies in the enforcement of these initiatives. In his view, the European Commission lacks personnel and resources to effectively supervise and implement these regulations. Wölken also referred to the changing political landscape and criticizes the Commission: “Since Donald Trump’s election as U.S. President, the Commission seems hesitant to conclude its long-running investigations into the platform X with concrete consequences”. And indeed, despite accusations that X has violated key areas in the DSA and given far-right posts and politicians greater visibility on the platform, the Commission has yet to impose a real fine. Other platforms like Apple and Meta have been fined €500 million and €200 million respectively under the DMA, however these fines have been largely criticized for being way too low considering the companies’ massive revenues.
The search for a European alternative
However, as diplomacy becomes more difficult, some call for establishing a pan-European platform or seek for European alternatives. But mandating the creation of a new European social media platform as an alternative is not seen as sensible by Wölken. “Ultimately, this has to happen organically; a platform will only be successful if it is also attractive to users,” said Wölken. The role of politics, he adds, is rather to create a unified European framework for companies that want to establish social networks.
One proposal comes from the German initiative Save Social which is committed to strengthening alternative platforms and saving social media as a democratic force. In February, Save Social was launched as an informal alliance of around 100 individuals and a dozen organizations. The main goal is to strengthen already existing platforms built on open protocols. One of these decentralized networks is the German platform Mastodon, which resembles X. It is based on the open protocol ActivityPub, which also serves other decentralized services, such as Pixelfed — a platform similar in structure and function to Instagram. “It’s about building a network of interconnected, interoperable services that people can use and where they find their needs”, said Björn Staschen, co-founder of Save Social.
The challenge: improve these platforms’ attractiveness
“Only a specific group moves to alternative platforms for political reasons. Most people will only make the move when the platforms meet their needs”, says Staschen. But how can this be achieved? A central aspect is high-quality content that attracts users. Save Social therefore calls for politicians, public authorities, universities, research institutions, libraries and public broadcasters to publish content not just on the major Big Tech platforms, but also on alternatives like Mastodon. According to Staschen, these platforms can also be more convenient, because content doesn’t have to be adapted to opaque algorithms and ever-changing dynamics. Svea Windwehr, co-chair of the nonprofit D64 – Center for Digital Progress, sees content as a pull factor as well: “The more interesting personalities and institutions move to a platform, the more people will follow.” The goal is to reach a critical mass on alternative platforms, according to Windwehr.
But it’s not just content that needs to evolve to make decentralized platforms more attractive. They have to become more accessible and intuitive. The user interface and user experience still need improvement, as stated by Staschen. To make all of this happen, one thing is especially needed: money. “When it comes to the question of who maintains and pays for open source technology, we do have a funding issue in Europe”, said Windwehr.
Decentralized networks are up against massive, powerful digital corporations like Meta and X. So one of the biggest challenges in improving these platforms is the unequal distribution of resources. “As long as Big Tech platforms can use their privileges, there will be no chance for anything else”, said Staschen.
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