As Elon Musk’s X battles to keep users in key markets, several British police forces are scaling back their presence on the global social media platform and one has abandoned it, reflecting concern about its role in promoting extremist views.
X, formerly Twitter, was used to spread disinformation this summer that sparked riots across Britain, and has reinstated British-based accounts that had been banned for extremist content. Critics say Musk’s hands-off approach has allowed lies and hate speech to spread.
Reuters contacted all 45 territorial police forces and British Transport Police by email. Of the 33 to give details about their policy, 10 forces who collectively police nearly 13 million people said they were actively reviewing their presence on X, while 13 said they frequently reviewed all their social media platforms.
X has been a key communications channel for the British government, public services and even the royal family for more than 10 years. For emergency services, its succinct format and wide reach are effective in alerting users to everything from civil emergencies to missing people or road closures.
Yet of these 23 forces, six said they were cutting their presence to just one or two X accounts. One, North Wales Police, serving nearly 700,000 residents, stopped using X completely in August.
“We … felt that the platform was no longer consistent with our values and therefore we have withdrawn our use of it,” Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said, adding that they would continue to monitor and review alternative platforms.
Also in Wales, Gwent Police said they were reviewing X because of questions about “the tone of the platform and whether that is the right place to reach our communities”. All Gwent’s individual officer accounts have been removed.
West Yorkshire Police said they were seeking to understand whether X would still help them reach their target
