Stephen King leaving X over ‘toxic’ environment
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SUMMARY
Author Stephen King announced he's leaving X (formerly Twitter), citing an increasingly "toxic" environment. King encouraged his followers to join him on Threads, Meta's competing social platform. His departure follows ongoing public clashes with X owner Elon Musk. King criticized Musk’s decisions, including X’s initial plan to charge users $20 monthly for verification, a fee Musk later adjusted to $8 after King’s public objection. Musk’s initiatives have been intended, he says, to foster “a more independent platform” where content moderation is less restrictive and the business model allows more direct engagement. A vocal Trump critic, King has frequently voiced concerns about the 'political landscape'. Following Trump’s 2024 presidential win over Vice President Kamala Harris, King remarked that democracy, like fragile items in a store, is "lovely to look at... but once you break it, then it’s sold."
