A number of police forces across the United Kingdom (UK) have withdrawn from X, as concerns mount regarding the nature of content being promoted on the popular social media platform, according to a survey by Reuters.
The forces that have quit using X include West Midlands Police, Lancashire Police, and Derbyshire Police, among others. West Midlands Police, which is among Britain’s largest police forces, reduced sharing updates on X by 95 per cent, according to the survey.
Lancashire Police, on the other hand, has stated, “We understand that, as the digital landscape changes, so too does our audiences’ channels of choice.” For more than 10 years, X has served as a major channel of communication for police forces, government, and public institutions in the UK.
X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been accused of spreading violent and extremist content in the UK, with the platform being weaponised to propagate mis-and-disinformation during the summer riots in the UK. The turmoil saw the spread of various AI-generated images, inciting violence against Muslims.
X has also reinstated previously suspended accounts, which were found to be spreading inflammatory material. The platform became the subject of widespread scrutiny after Musk heavily used it to campaign for US President Donald Trump, who had been suspended from X (then Twitter) following the January 2021 Capitol riots.
On November 13, British publication the Guardian announced it had stopped using X for the promotion of its journalistic work. The publication called X a “toxic” platform, accusing it of spreading “racism” and “conspiracy theories”. “We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere,” it stated.
