"We know this platform is becoming increasingly toxic"
UK universities and other institutions are leaving Elon Musk’s X.
For a long time, many of these institutions have used the platform to post updates and announcements.
However, they have retreated from X, suggesting that it is becoming a no-go platform.
A Reuters survey revealed that several universities have scaled back their usage of X to the bare minimum or quit completely, following several academics who have left the platform.
They cited X’s role in spreading misinformation that fuelled race riots across the UK in the summer of 2024.
The riots stemmed from fake news about the Southport stabbings.
Channel3Now published a false story that claimed the suspect was an asylum seeker named Ali Al-Shakati who arrived in the UK on a small boat and was “on the MI6 watchlist”.
In reality, the suspect was Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff.
A social media post about the story received millions of views and was widely shared on X by far-right influencers.
Elon Musk has since called for Sir Keir Starmer to be jailed and for far-right activist Tommy Robinson to be released from prison.
Over 150 universities, their colleges and art conservatoires have reduced their X activity, citing misinformation, content that promotes violence and declining engagement.
London Business School’s last X post was in September 2024. It said:
“London Business School continually reviews its communications channels and decides which to use based on levels of effective audience engagement.”
The University of Cambridge continues to use X alongside other platforms but at least seven of its 31 colleges have stopped posting on X.
Homerton College said: “We know this platform is becoming increasingly toxic, so we will continue to assess our presence on X and monitor emerging alternatives.”
Oxford University’s Merton College has deleted its X account while another college, Harris Manchester, last posted on November 15 and requested followers to find it on other platforms.
The University of East Anglia said its audience engagement on X had plunged by 80%.
Falmouth University’s last X post was in September while Plymouth Marjon University said it will no longer use it.
London Metropolitan University cited falling engagement for no longer actively posting.
Buckinghamshire New University said X was “no longer a place where we want to encourage conversations with our university”.
Some top arts conservatoires have also stepped away.
The Royal Northern College of Music said it was “consciously channelling its energy elsewhere”, while London’s performing arts conservatoire Trinity Lab deleted its X account.
The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama hasn’t posted since August.
It is not just education institutes. Several police forces have quit X or reduced their usage.
North Wales Police quit the platform in 2024, claiming it was “no longer consistent” with the force’s values.
Derbyshire Police is now reducing its use of X due to the “quality and quantity of interactions”.
The force announced that it would now only be using it to “provide critical updates as a single point of truth when necessary”.
Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of X, the platform has faced criticism over misinformation and being apparently a platform for controversial figures.
Among them is Andrew Tate, who announced his intention to run for UK Prime Minister and established his own political party – Britain Restoring Underlying Values (BRUV).
But shortly after his announcement, the official handle @votebruv was suspended.
In a post, Tate asked Musk why the account had been deactivated. After a short period, it was restored.
In his reaction, Tate reiterated his mission to “bring greatness back to Britain”.
Thanking Musk and calling him a “bro”, Tate wrote:
“We are back. Join us @votebruv. We’re taking Britain back to greatness. The revolution will be televised.”
Musk replied: “Not sure why it was suspended, but it seems to be fixed now.”
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