Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and department quit Elon Musk’s X over ‘abuse and misinformation’
Culture Minister Lisa Nandy announced that Elon Musk is leaving X because the platform “supports abuse and misinformation”.
The MP said the social media site was “not healthy for our democracy or our communities” and that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would also leave.
It became the second government department, after the Attorney General’s Office, to stop using X.
I have decided to step down from this platform and so will my Ministry,” Ms Nandy said in a post.
“A platform originally designed for freedom of speech and expression now supports abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate.
“This is not healthy for our democracy or our communities, and I do not want to support it.”
Ms Nandy said she would remain active on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The attorney general last month defended his office’s decision to ban him from posting on X, telling MPs it “amounted to sustained racism and misogyny”.
Lord Hermer, a close ally of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, said his department “could do better”.
The Prime Minister had accused Mr Musk, the world’s first trillionaire, of trying to “whip up division” in the UK over the murder of student Henry Nowak last month.
Violent protests broke out near where the 18-year-old was killed over outcry over his treatment by police.
The following week, race rioting broke out in Belfast following a stabbing attack in which a 30-year-old Sudanese national was charged with attempted murder.
Online posts by people including Mr. Musk and far-right activist Tommy Robinson highlighted demands for people to take to the streets.
When Lord Hermer appeared before the Justice Committee he was asked what the ban was.
He said: “I made this decision.
“I can understand why other departments feel they need to engage with people on the ground, but that’s not where the Attorney General’s Office should be.
“For the work that I can do, I can engage in serious discussions, detailed discussions, respectful debates with people without being on a platform that constantly borders on racism and misogyny.
“I think my department can do better than this.”
Asked whether he would encourage other departments to follow suit, he said: “I can see that there are very good reasons why some departments and some colleagues want to be there to tackle challenges on this platform.
“My department doesn’t need to do this.”
Last month Sir Keir announced a social media ban for under-16s, which he said would give young people their childhood back.
In response to consultations on the ban, the US embassy in London said the country favored “narrowly targeted requirements” for adult content “rather than broad social media bans”.
While the US said it “does not categorically oppose age-safety measures”, it said: “Most content, including political speech, should remain accessible by default.”
