Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy quits X over misinformation
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- Lisa Nandy announced both she and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are leaving X, writing in what appeared to be her final post that the platform "isn't healthy for our democracy or our communities."
- Nandy said X "originally designed for free speech and expression now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate," adding she will keep using Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
- Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pushed back on the decision, arguing DCMS "is supposed to counter and deal with misinformation, not run away because it's all too much."
- Downing Street broke with DCMS, indicating it would keep using X and that social media use remains "under review," leaving the call to individual ministers and departments.
- DCMS becomes the second UK government department to quit X after the Attorney General's office; Lord Hermer told MPs in June the platform "constantly descends to racism and misogyny."
- Several MPs — Liberal Democrats Layla Moran and Vikki Slade, plus Labour's Darren Paffey — left X earlier this year over reports the Grok AI tool was being used to generate sexualised images, including of children.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused Musk of using X to "whip up division" in the UK over the murder of Southampton student Henry Nowak, whose death sparked violent protests after bodycam footage was released.
Why it matters: The UK government is now split on whether X remains a viable forum for official communication, with two departments abandoning it while No 10 holds the line. Musk's ownership has turned the platform into a political litmus test — Labour ministers frame departure as democratic duty, Conservatives call it an abdication of it. With MPs already fleeing over Grok-generated sexualised imagery, the pattern is accelerating rather than settling.
