Vote to remove your X

The past, it was the future once

The flare-up between Humza Yousaf, the former Scottish First Minister, and Elon Musk is another example of a social media panjandrum demeaning democracy. I never signed up for Twitter as it seemed a guarantee of wasted time as you followed retweets down ever more rabbit holes. Only 1 in 5 Tweets is original. I have friends who claim X is vital to keep abreast of developments in their occupation but, for the most part, it seems like a vehicle to find like-minded souls and descend into the mire of mud-slinging. 

Musk would claim that this is free speech but increasingly X looks like his endorsement of a new world order where autocrats are empowered to influence decisions and challenge democratically elected governments. He is smart enough to know that he has to court some governments to facilitate this regime transition but also arrogant enough to seal his own downfall in this pursuit.

So what is the answer? Well, it probably rests with the participation of the X electorate, the Twitterati, who have been lured into this graveyard of celebrities and wannabees. Government regulation will take forever and be thwarted by all sorts of fake concessions by X. Far better for the electorate to remove their X accounts. There are alternative social media platforms that adhere more closely to regulation and provide less incursive freedoms than X which increasingly caters for those who want to destabilise or wreck governance protocols. By withdrawing from X, the supplementary prize would be the de-wealthing and de-influencing of Elon Musk. Another Tesla resignation moment?

The alternative platform would need to be run independently by a tech company with technological know-how that would work with the UK and the EU. Perhaps Nick Clegg could persuade his boss at Meta to repurpose Threads for European expansion. Threads already has 200 million subscribers but is mainly focused on the USA. Nick Clegg has excellent connections in the UK and Europe and believes in good governance.

A recent comparison between Threads and X shows that there have been some significant switchers from the top 50 most followed users of Twitter. Most notably Barack Obama, Bill Gates and CNN have totally or largely withdrawn from X. The New York Times, Barcelona FC and Jennifer Lopez now share their posts on both platforms. Sadly, the BBC, the Guardian, Real Madrid and the Premier League have stayed with X. The BBC presumably believes it has to maintain political balance, although there is little evidence of political balance being reciprocated by X. The UK institutions can certainly play a part in removing the baleful influence of X. In the meantime, users could kiss goodbye to X and gain some me time.