Quakers leave X over harmful content
International Quaker groups have announced they will be disengaging from the social media platform X
At least eight international Quaker groups have announced they will be disengaging from the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) said that it was shifting to Bluesky as recent changes to X ‘contradict Quaker principles of truth and integrity’. It cited reports that false narratives on the site may have contributed to real-world violence.
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) said it was also disengaging from the platform on 16 December due to concerns over changes under Elon Musk’s ownership. ‘Musk has allowed far-right groups back on X and weakened moderation and the platform’s algorithm has increased the spread of harmful content.’
Other Quaker organisations taking similar steps include: the Canadian Friends Service Committee, Quakers in Ireland, Quaker Council for European Affairs, Woodbrooke, Pendle Hill in the US, and Friends Journal.
Tim Gee, general secretary to FWCC, said: ‘Quakers aren’t people who retreat from the world, but instead seek to engage with it. Most engagement with the world as it is involves a level of compromise. Part of the equation needs to be whether the good that might be achieved outweighs the bad. In the case of Twitter/X the scales have swung the wrong way.’
Other organisations disengaging from X are the European Federation of Journalists and The Guardian. X user numbers dropped by around a third in the UK and a fifth in the US, in the year leading to September.
