Southampton City Council has announced it will no longer post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in a decision it said was ‘fundamentally about values’.
Council leader Lorna Fielker said it was ‘clear’ to the Labour administration that the social media platform was ‘no longer the right place to ask our community to engage with us’.
Changes to the algorithm have led to a significant drop in engagement, with impressions from X now making up less than 10% of the council’s social media reach, compared to nearly 50% in 2021, according to the authority.
Cllr Fielker said: ‘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.’
The council will continue to engage with residents through Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
