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Louise Thomas
Editor
An NHS hospital has quit the social media platform X over an increase in abuse, hate speech and misinformation after the far-right riots in England and Northern Ireland.
The former Twitter has come in for criticism over misinformation and hate speech fuelling disorder in many towns and cities, with nearly 500 people arrested so far.
After three children were fatally stabbed and eight others were injured in Southport, a fictitious identity of a Muslim asylum seeker was incorrectly identified as a suspect, leading to a wave of Islamophobia, including an attack on a mosque in the town.
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) posted on X: “Due to significant changes on this platform in recent months, X is no longer consistent with our Trust values. Therefore RNOH is closing its account. Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn. Thanks to everyone who has followed & supported us for the last 13 years.”
Elon Musk, X’s activist owner, has himself taken to posting criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s crackdown on hate speech and people inciting violence.
Among other posts, he shared a fake story that the government was considering a prison camp in the Falkland Islands and promoted the conspiracy theory that Britain has a two-tier policing – which claims right-wing protesters are treated differently to other groups.
A war of words with the prime minister began when Mr Musk claimed civil war in the UK is inevitable.
Since acquiring the then-Twitter in 2022, Mr Musk has promoted it as a platform for free speech.
The NHS trust did not reference the X owner directly but said that the platform is “currently not a safe, healthy or inclusive environment to engage and interact with our communities, and does not reflect our values, nor those of the NHS”.
It said in a statement: “Throughout the past 12 months or so, we have all witnessed an increased volume of hate speech and abusive commentary on X/Twitter. This is alongside the sustained spread and promotion of misinformation about vaccinations, as well as other important issues that require reasoned, fact-based exploration and discussion.”
It added: “Sadly, X/Twitter has become increasingly used for the spread of hate and discrimination, often targeting specific groups in our communities. RNOH will no longer be associated with the platform.”
The trust is based in Harrow, in west London, where far-right protests were rumoured to be planned on Wednesday evening. Instead, counter-protesters gathered with banners in support of immigrants.
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