British newspaper throng the Guardian has announced it will no longer post on X, formerly Twitter, saying it has become a “a toxic media platform”.

In a communication to readers, it said the US presidential election “underlined” its concerns that its owner, Elon Musk, had been able to use X to “shape political discourse.”

Mr Musk strongly backed Donald Trump and has now been given a role cutting government spending in his incoming administration.

The BBC has contacted X for comment.

The Guardian said users would still be able to distribute articles and it was likely continue to embed X posts in its coverage of globe events.

It also said its reporters would be able to carry on using the site “for information-assembly purposes.”

But it said the “benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives.”

“This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-correct conspiracy theories and racism,” it added.

The selection was also posted on X itself, where some users reacted with vitriol, with those who paid for prominent replies accusing the Guardian of “woke propaganda” and “virtue signalling”.

Mr Musk and the Guardian are far from political bed fellows, so in that sense it is not surprising that the newspaper has responded to his and X’s increasing alignment with Trump in this way.

But it can also be argued the election outcome is an chance for the document, which describes itself as “the globe’s leading liberal voice.”

It is positioning itself as a key part of the “resistance” to Donald Trump, using the US election to highlight that is a media organisation without a billionaire proprietor – while also asking its readers for donations.

The day after the election, readers pledged more than $1.8m (£1.4m), a record for a single day.

Ben Mullin, the recent York Times’ media reporter, described the media throng’s donation collection as “a sign that some outlets are tapping a surge of thrill for adversarial journalism post-election”.

The Guardian’s departure is also likely to intensify questions about whether others will pursue.

X’s rivals already appear to be benefiting.

Meta’s Threads has continued to expand, and Bluesky – set up by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey – briefly topped the download charts in the UK and US Apple App Stores.

Its userbase has grown by four million in two months, and Bluesky said in a post on Tuesday that it had picked up a million recent users in the seven days since Trump’s triumph.

However it remains comparatively tiny, with 15 million users worldwide.