UK Journalist Investigated and The Guardian Quits X: Benefits ‘Outweighed by the Negatives’

Key Takeaways

• In the U.K., X has become a culture war flashpoint.
• Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson claims she was visited by the police for “stirring up racial hatred” with a tweet.
• Meanwhile, The Guardian has quit the platform over concerns about the spread of conspiracy theories and racism.

From different viewpoints, Elon Musk’s tenure at X tends to be characterized in two ways. Supporters praise the platform for promoting free speech in an otherwise censorious online mediascape. At the same time, critics condemn it for descending into a right-wing echo chamber that is a shadow of the diverse public forum it once was.

Both versions of the story are true. In an increasingly polarized social media environment, the platform has become a culture war flashpoint, as recent events in the U.K. highlight.

Police Investigate U.K. Journalist Over Tweet

When Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson reported that she was visited by the police at home on Sunday, Nov. 10, she described the encounter as both “Orwellian” and “Kafkaesque.”

The first literary reference captures Pearson’s feelings about the “non-crime hate incident” for which she was being investigated.

The second underscores the fact that the police couldn’t identify the incident in question. In her account, Pearson said she was accused of “stirring up racial hatred” with a tweet.

Noting that “a visit from the police has a chilling effect on free speech,” the journalist accused the police of overreach and criticized the very notion of a non-crime hate incident.

Pearson’s story echoes similar battles over social media censorship in the U.S., Brazil, and elsewhere.

As in those countries, the debate is framed by a wide political divide, a post-COVID kickback against state power, and concerns about the relationship between online rhetoric and real violence.

Social Media Policing

Pearson’s investigation follows a summer of unrest in the U.K., during which law enforcement escalated social media policing.

Far-right riots that spread across the country in July and August were stoked by dubious claims made online, and some protesters were later found to have incited violence through social media posts.

At least two men have been sent to prison for posts on X and Facebook that advocated for attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers.

While the question of when a given statement crosses the line into hate speech is a matter of legal debate, X has become increasingly embroiled in such controversies in recent years.

On the other side of a widening political gulf separating Pearson’s anti-censorship message from concerns with misinformation and online hate, The Guardian announced that it had quit the platform entirely on Wednesday.

The Guardian Says Goodbye to X

Explaining the decision to quit X, The Guardian said:

“We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.”

Specifically, it cited “disturbing content” such as “far-right conspiracy theories and racism” as its reason for leaving.

The final straw for The Guardian’s leadership appears to have been the U.S. presidential election campaign, which they said “served only to underline what we have considered for a long time, that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.”