British police reduce X presence amid extremist content worries

UNITED KINGDOM: 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 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.