Britain’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced on Thursday that she is leaving Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, saying it has become a space that “favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate.”
“I’ve decided to leave this platform and my department will too,” Nandy said in a post on X.
“A platform originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate. It isn’t healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don’t want to support it,” she stated.
She added , “You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @LisaNandyMP”.
Nandy’s Department for culture, media and sport will also not be using the platform.
More exits from X earlier
The Department for Culture has become the second UK government department to stop using X, after the Attorney General’s Office. Several MPs also left the platform earlier this year following reports that its AI chatbot, Grok, was being used to generate sexualised images, according to a BBC report.
UK’s Attorney General Lord Hermer defended his decision to stop his office from posting on X last month, telling MPs that the platform “constantly descends to racism and misogyny” and that his department “can do better”.
“I can understand why other departments feel they need to be on the pitch engaging with people, but that is not where the attorney general’s office needs to be,” Lord Hermer told the Justice Committee in June.
Keir Starmer has also accused X owner Elon Musk of using the platform to “whip up division” in the UK following the murder of student Henry Nowak last month.
Several MPs, including Liberal Democrats Layla Moran and Vikki Slade, as well as Labour MP Darren Paffey, also quit the platform after reports that Grok was being used to create sexualised images, including of children.