Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and department quit Elon Musk’s X over ‘abuse and misinformation’

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced she is leaving X because the Elon Musk-owned platform “favours abuse and misinformation”. The MP said the social media site “isn’t healthy for our democracy or our communities”, and that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport would also be leaving. It becomes the second government department to stop using X after the Attorney General’s Office. I’ve decided to leave this platform and my Department will too,” Ms Nandy said in a post. “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.” Ms Nandy said she would remain active on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. The Attorney General defended his decision to ban his office from posting on X last month, telling MPs it “constantly descends to racism and misogyny”. Lord Hermer, a close ally of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, said his department “can do better”. open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer said those spreading ‘lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims, they are interested in themselves’ (PA) (PA Wire) 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 erupted near where the 18-year-old was killed amid an outcry over his treatment by police. The following week, racist rioting took place in Belfast after a stabbing attack for which a 30-year-old Sudanese national was charged with attempted murder. Online posts from people including Mr Musk and far-right activist Tommy Robinson had highlighted demands for people to take to the streets. Lord Hermer was asked about the ban when he appeared before the Justice Committee. In a response to the consultation on a ban, the US embassy in London said the country preferred “narrowly targeted requirements” for adult content “rather than broad social media bans”. While the US said it did not “categorically oppose age assurance measures”, it said: “Most content should remain accessible by default, including political speech.”