There’s a lot wrong with social media, none of it confined to X

Elon Musk, social media site X owner and head of Donald Trump’s new department of government efficiency, pictured in the White House (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)

It’s a sad but true state of affairs that the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is a big part of my life.

I use it to check running news stories, keep up to date with showbiz gossip, and for funny cat videos. I have made friends on it. It passes the time on long bus journeys and in the middle of the night when insomnia hits. And I have successfully used it to make complaints to big brands, from M&S to Edinburgh City Council. Both responded very quickly and the issues were resolved by direct message. So I am disappointed to learn that Edinburgh City Council may stop using X if a motion put forward by Green councillor Chas Booth is passed.

Councillor Booth insists the platform is now “lawless” and he says that the public should not have to wade through “abuse and vitriol” to report issues or read council updates. I have some free media advice for him, and anyone else baffled by X’s algorithms. Create a list with all your favourite accounts on it, which you can then scroll to easily without stumbling across nasty bots, Trump supporters or even X’s owner, Elon Musk.

I think it is Musk’s ownership of X that bothers Councillor Booth more than the site’s content. He says that Musk “appears to be a fascist” and that the council should have no dealings with an organisation owned by a fascist. Now I know Elon Musk is the world’s richest man. He is also on the autism spectrum. In 2021, he told top US TV show Saturday Night Live that he has Asperger’s syndrome. And he seems hell bent on destroying the US federal bureaucracy in his position as head of Donald Trump’s new department of “government efficiency”. But a fascist? The jury is still out on that one.

Nevertheless, council officers now have to spend their time compiling a report on the options for leaving X and for suggestions on what other ways residents could keep up to date with the council. The council’s main account @Edinburgh_CC has more than 140,000 followers, with regular updates on things such as the priority routes for gritting and how to stand for your local community council (nominations close on February 27 if you are interested). It provides an essential service, and until the council can prove that Elon Musk is a card-carrying fascist then I don’t see any reason to leave the site.

There are many things wrong with social media, from fake news to creepy people posting even creepier images, but this rubbish is not confined to X. Facebook is full of nonsense, as is Instagram, and don’t get me started on TikTok, which is partly owned by the Chinese state – hardly the most democratic of governments.

I rarely agree with Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Kevin Lang, but on this issue he is spot on. He pointed out that the council has 101 things more important than which social media accounts it uses, listing the housing, climate and social care emergencies to drive home his point. Hear, hear Councillor Lang, and I don’t even mind that you don’t follow me on X.