The University of Leeds Flees X

The University of Leeds joins 33 million other users in leaving X (formerly Twitter). It cites the platform’s divergence from the values of “collaboration, compassion, inclusivity and integrity” in a tweet sent out on Thursday the 23rd of January.

Since 2022, after Elon Musk took over X, the company has faced a series of problems. These problems include advertisers boycotts, rising costs of paying debt and increasing concerns about X’s algorithms. In an interview given to the BBC in December last year, Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of the Disinformation Governance Board of the USA, claimed that X now gives “privilege divisive and misleading rhetoric”.

Some of the issues suffered by X have been known for a while. The company has never broke even since it was founded in 2006 as Twitter. Additionally, since 2022, new problems have emerged as advertisers began to leave the site after Musk’s endorsements of a series of tweets by antisemitic accounts. Musk sued the advertisers for not buying ad space on X on grounds the refusal constituted a violation of antitrust laws.

The reason the University of Leeds gave, in a tweet, for leaving the platform was “a huge drop in engagement due to developments on the platform”. They also said that “the nature of the channel has also changed over the years and no longer aligns with our university values”. This follows other major organisations and individuals leaving the site, including one police force. The university doesn’t speak to which developments led to their departure from the platform.

The decision does, however, come after Musk has received notoriety in the UK for his support of Tommy Robinson, whose legal name is Stephan Yaxley-Lennon. Robinson is a former member of the British National Party and former leader of the English Defence League. Both of these organisations have been described as fascist. Even more recently, Musk has been accused of giving two Nazi salutes after a speech he gave at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Additionally, Musk has recently been vocal in his support for the AfD in Germany, a party whose former leader, Björn Höcke, was convicted for his use of a Nazi slogan at a rally.

The University of Leeds maintains social media channels on Meta, Linkedin, TikTok, Youtube and Bluesky. Many groups who have left X have set up accounts on Bluesky, which is owned by Jack Dorsey, the former head and founder of Twitter.