Since broadcaster KRO-NCRV left X (formerly Twitter) with banging doors on Tuesday, because an unfiltered storm of racism arose on the social platform against the presence of broadcaster boss and rapper Akwasi in a knowledge quiz The smartest person, the question arises in several organizations: should they still stay at X now that disinformation and hateful language has become so prevalent? In fact, that question has been around since tech entrepreneur Elon Musk bought the platform in October 2022 and took various controversial measures, including firing many moderators and giving free rein to far-right voices.
Shall we stay or shall we leave? Silently, many users have already made that decision. X lost 13 percent of its Dutch users last year, reports market researcher Newcom. As for daily users, even a quarter gave up. Worldwide, the platform has lost 32 million users since Musk took office. Major advertisers walked away after an anti-Semitic message from Musk, shareholders are concerned about his drug use. According to shareholder Fidelity, the company has fallen 72 percent in value since Musk. New, smaller platforms such as Threads, BlueSky and Mastodon are filling the gap left by X.
But, users say, X remains an important source of information and an important platform for spreading information. The Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) states that government organizations, especially municipalities, must be present on social media because many citizens are there. “To inform them, but sometimes also to ask for opinions or to make a specific appeal.” The VNG does not discuss the specific circumstances surrounding X. Last year, the umbrella organization for municipalities wrote a 'conversation starter' with considerations and tips to help municipalities with their social media policy. The choice of which social medium is up to the municipalities themselves, the organization said.
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In conversation with residents
Dutch police forces make extensive use of X. Various police accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers. When asked, the police force answers that social media are of great importance for detection and prevention. “And also to talk to residents every day about their concerns, questions, fears and desired help.” The police department management says about But there is no question of departure: “The possible loss of X immediately impoverishes the possibilities for contact with citizens.”
Dutch safety regions, in which fire brigades, municipalities and other emergency services work together, are trying to become less dependent on X and other social media because a change in policy can limit the accessibility of, for example, emergency messages. Consider making tweets invisible to non-users, a “temporary restriction” that Musk introduced in June. Or Facebook's algorithms that place a current message, such as 'Big fire in Driebergen', much later in the timeline. That is why safety regions prefer to develop their own messaging sites, such as Utrecht and Zeeland, or their own app, such as Rotterdam-Rijnmond.
Smaller player
Because there are relatively many journalists and opinion makers on X, it seems to be a large social platform. But X is actually a lesser player on the market, according to the annual figures of market researcher Newcom. If we leave out the messaging services and video platform YouTube, Facebook (9.9 million), Instagram (7.8 million) and LinkedIn (5 million) are the largest social networks in the Netherlands. X is in seventh place with 3.1 million users. According to Newcom, the total number of Dutch social media users continues to rise, from 13.7 million to 14.1 million last year. They spend an average of one hour and 54 minutes per day on social media – an increase of seven minutes. The users have partly switched platforms. Like X, Facebook is declining in popularity in favor of the growing Instagram, Tiktok and Pinterest.
News media are not inclined to follow the example of KRO-NCRV and abandon X, as was evident from an earlier tour by ANP. Patricia Veldhuis, interim editor-in-chief of NRC, says that there is a considerable discussion in the editorial office about X, but does not yet feel the need to leave. “X has always been questionable as a source, with all that disinformation. And X is also too small and one-sided to gauge the mood in the country. We also see that the controlling mechanisms are currently faltering at X, but I think the tide will turn the ship.”
For NRC, X remains important to distribute articles. According to Veldhuis, X offers a broad network of people who feed NRC with ideas and stories for journalistic research. “As journalists we should not walk around in a utopian paradise, we should go to places where it is bleak.” Veldhuis also thinks that NRC has a role to play in showing that a decent conversation on X is also possible.
Fun mirror
Sander Schimmelpenninck, journalist and TV maker, has stopped tweeting. Last year he made the documentary series for the public broadcaster Sander versus the socials in which he investigated the influence of social media on society. His departure from X was a logical consequence of this. “I didn't want to play football in Elon Musk's stadium anymore.” However, he has kept his account so that he can passively “peek in”.
Schimmelpenninck was known for regularly engaging in heated discussions with far-right users on X. He was “very in love with social media,” he says. “Leaving was not easy. I had 200,000 followers, there is also economic value in that, which I threw away. But I suffered quite a lot of misery and I entered a different phase of life – a child, moving to Sweden – in which those X-fights were less suitable.” All relevant people are leaving X, he says: “It is actually a tragedy that such a consumer action is necessary. It is the government's job to enforce the rules on social media as they do in the real world. But the government doesn't do that.”
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