Universities: why are you still on Twitter/X?
As I have explained before, I left the platform formerly known as Twitter at the end of August 2023 and haven’t looked back. Many of my friends and colleagues have quit too, most of them setting up accounts on Bluesky and/or Mastodon. In recent months, a number of big companies have also stopped advertising on Twitter/X too. The above image is appearing more and more frequently around the world of social media.
It’s not just the systematic amplification of hateful tweets from a variety of antisocial bigots, nor the reinstatement of noxious individuals previously banned for such conduct, nor the deluge of porn bots and other automated gibberish nor the scrapping of virtually all forms of moderation. It’s also that Elon Musk himself has used his own site to endorse explicitly anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Everyone who puts anything on Twitter nowadays is providing revenue that feeds this maelstrom of hate. How a decent individual can in good conscience remain on that site is beyond me.
But that’s not the point of this post. Virtually every public institution I know – including universities – continues to maintain a presence on Twitter/X for self-promotion despite that platforms deliberate and sustained violation of what purport to be their institutional values. Only a small number of institutions have acted according to their own ethics by quitting Musk’s platform, including the University of Luxembourg. Those still on, including my employer, are, in my opinion, displaying gross hypocrisy.
Why are so many universities still supporting Twitter/X? I suppose it may be because many of them have specifically employed staff to broadcast news about themselves on this platform and without it they’d have nothing to do. That’s not a very good argument, in my opinion. I’m sure other bullshit jobs can be found. Another possibility, of course, is that they just don’t care. Given the prevalence of toxic management in higher education these days, this may well be the real reason.
Any institution worried that there is no viable alternative to Twitter/X should consider setting up on the Fediverse. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, for example, already has its own Mastodon instance. The advantage of the Fediverse is that the owners of each server can apply their own policies. I’d like to see a future in which all universities, national agencies, and other public research institutions, set up their own Mastodon instances instead. That would create a very exciting environment for the exchange of news and information which would be a more than adequate replacement for academic Twitter.
In the Dark 
December 20, 2023 at 1:41 pm
It’s a pity you left.
December 20, 2023 at 1:42 pm
It’s a pity you left and to a restricted bubble. The level of hate has not increased and it still provides a space for debate…..
December 20, 2023 at 1:46 pm
A pity for whom?
December 20, 2023 at 2:31 pm
A pity for all of us and for open debate. X is much larger and still offers the best platform for debate. Also for disagreement. I fear that in this age of polarisation and identity politics, a retreat to one’s own bubble is not the answer.
December 20, 2023 at 5:57 pm
I suspect that the only consistent choice would be to leave all social networks – while Musk is very visibly toxic, I have problems with most commercial social network providers (hence I have accounts on multiple – I’ve never been very good with consistency).
December 20, 2023 at 10:24 pm
My opinion on the consequences of Musk’s reforms to X/Twitter is that the platform has lost its dominance within microblogging. It now stands as the leading provider among a range of platforms.
I, myself, used to post on Twitter exclusively. Now I post on X, Mastodon and Bluesky.
I too wish institutions and organisations would set up Bluesky and Mastodon accounts to post on thise platforms. It would be good to find more institutional content on a multiplicity of platforms to post and quote.
December 22, 2023 at 4:34 pm
A little bit like those universities who are still cooperating with Israeli universities, then…
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