Southampton City Council to cease use of X

Southampton City Council has announced that it will no longer use X, formerly known as Twitter, as a channel for communicating

The decision to leave X comes in response to changes to the algorithm, which drives the content in users’ feeds, and the end of independent fact-checking. This had led to a significant drop in engagement on the platform over the past year.

Despite having 54,000 followers on the X account, many of these accounts have been inactive for over six months. Impressions from X now constitute less than 10% of Southampton City Council's total social media reach, compared to nearly 50% in 2021.

Leader of Southampton City Council, Councillor Lorna Fielker, says:
"While I recognise that many people still use X, it is clear to my administration that it is no longer the right place to ask our community to engage with us.

"This decision is fundamentally about values. The lack of challenge on X to abuse, misinformation, and extreme views does not align with these values.

"Recent changes to X have made it harder to engage with local people about local issues but this decision is fundamentally about values. The lack of challenge on X to abuse, misinformation, and extreme views does not reflect the type of forum we think it is right to be interacting with residents.

"Southampton City Council will continue to engage with residents on other social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn."