It’s time for arts organisations to quit X/Twitter
For a long time, X/Twitter has been a vital part of arts organisations’ marketing and social media strategies. What made early Twitter great, made it the perfect place for “event” based organisations. Instant, heavily focussed on news, updates, connecting organisations and customers, and interacting about shared experiences, it provided something unique that Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube could not.
X/Twitter also become something of cultural significance that other social media channels could only dream of. During the 2010s, there was a trend for news channels just to read out people’s tweets on air and claim them as news (see the 2016 USA election for the epitome of this). Even if you weren’t on X/Twitter, you knew that it was important.
However, X/Twitter has had growing problems. Even before Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022 it was becoming a haven for hate speech and fake news, including being a major part of the January 6th United States Capitol attack. Even before then, it had been slow to react to online hate and had been rightly criticised for a sluggish response in removing far-right figures such as Alex Jones, Andrew Tate, and “Tommy Robinson”.
Since Elon Musk bought Twitter and turned it into X, the platform has been in a perpetual state of crisis and controversy as a result of removing safeguards and encouraging hate under the false premise of free speech absolutism. The list of crises and controversies could be a whole book, so here are just a few moments:
500% increase in uses of the N-word in the 12 hours after Elon Musk bought Twitter
Advertisers leaving X due to Elon Musk endorsing antisemitic post
Elon Musk telling advertisers to “go fuck yourself” – including Disney CEO Bob Iger – for reduction in ad spending due to increase in hate speech
Elon Musk’s increased posting of conspiracy theories – usually focused on race
Elon Musk’s 8 posts in the last 10 months about an impending civil war on immigration
X’s new AI image generator floods X with controversial images, including Kamala Harris with a gun, Taylor Swift in Lingerie, Mickey Mouse as a Nazi, Donald Trump flying a plane into the World Trade Center, and the prophet Muhammad holding a bomb
The thing is all of this hate and conflict has a purpose. It is GREAT for engagement. Elon Musk and X are incentivised to encourage and engage with hate speech, fake news, and outrage, as they inherently drive engagement; something all social media channels want. As a result, X’s algorithm will promote them further, compounding their efficacy. In short, the primary business model for X/Twitter is hate, fake news, outrage, and conflict – regardless of the on-platform or real-world consequences.
In the background to this, arts organisations have been quietly posting away on X. Carrying on with their communications strategies, and not engaging with the hate that is online. However, this is a problem.
The majority of arts organisations are non-profits. As such, they are all for the wider good of society and making the world a better place. The overwhelming majority have made strong commitments to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and rightly so. However, can you uphold these commitments while still engaging with and supporting a platform that actively promotes, encourages and monetises hate?
This is part of the reason why we have seen advertisers pull out of X/Twitter. Even though some arts organisations have stopped spending, it doesn’t go far enough. By being a part of X/Twitter, arts organisations promote that people should use and engage with the platform. This engagement drives revenue and supports a company that actively promotes hate and fake news. It also means that users are more likely to see and engage with hate. By doing this, arts organisations are not just complicit, they are active supporters of a hate-generating platform – something which is in direct conflict with any EDI commitments and their non-profit status.
The downsides to not using X/Twitter aren’t as bad as they used to be. The number of users and general engagement on X are down significantly. Most arts organisations just post event updates, so it’s not like X is a vital content platform for them. Most have diversified output with Facebook, Instagram etc.. In reality, there will be little negative effect for an arts organisation choosing to not use X.
But this kind of misses the point. EDI is all very well for us when it is convenient. But we must also uphold these principles and commitments when it is inconvenient or even hard to do so. We really shouldn’t be worried about negative consequences, because it is the right thing to do.
Arts organisations continuing to use X are choosing to ignore their commitments to EDI and support a company that thrives on, monetises, encourages, and disseminates hate, and are therefore complicit in the actions of the company, the hate on the platform, and its consequences.
It’s time for us to leave X.
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