Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) is no stranger to controversy, but this past year has been more controversial than most. Whatever one thinks of Musk’s personal politics, there can be little question that X has become a steadily more hostile place. An absence of moderation and increase in AI content have made it a decidedly less brand-safe place to be.
That sense has been further heightened by recent accusations about its built-in AI, Grok. Investigations have found that Grok was frequently being used to generate explicit, non-consensual images, including depictions of celebrities and minors. The question then is more pertinent than ever: is it finally time for the remaining businesses on X to jump ship?
A toxic X
Concerns over X are nothing new. The platform has been dogged by criticism over its approach to content moderation arguably since before Elon Musk’s takeover. Advertisers first paused or pulled spending after research and media investigations showed their ads appearing alongside extremist or hateful content.
Regulators in Europe meanwhile have opened inquiries into whether the platform is meeting its obligations under the Digital Services Act. Former trust and safety staff have also publicly described weakened enforcement and poor working conditions, while civil society groups have documented rises in hate speech, harassment, and disinformation.
Some businesses (and plenty of individuals) have found their last straws amongst these scandals, and abandoned X for other options. But many more have persisted. While most metrics suggest that traffic to and from X has dropped since the takeover, it remains one of the world’s biggest social media sites, and a key touchpoint for live updates and customer service. When a news story breaks, it’s often still the first place people will go.
The question is how many storms it can ride out, and whether businesses are starting to be buffeted by them. One might argue that in the current environment, it’s harder not to be controversial, and that controversy means less than it used to. But there’s also undoubtedly a shift happening against not just AI, but the dangers of technology in general. A wave of prospective bans on social media access for teenagers highlights the growing anxiety over the dangers of unfettered access to these tools.
Does X still mark the spot?
Perhaps the obvious question for businesses still on X is this: what are you getting out of it? The reality for most is that X has never been an enormous driver of traffic, even before ‘bots’ (fake users) were an issue. The real benefits have always been much more prosaic. X, like many other social media channels, often primarily exists to demonstrate activity. It’s a simple way to share news or content, and to offer a customer service touchpoint, not to drive growth.
Seen through that lens, X’s unique value becomes less obvious. If your posts reach fewer people—whether that’s because algorithms are unpredictable, timelines are cluttered with outrage, or they may not be people at all—the business case for staying is weakened. If customers are reluctant to engage publicly because the platform feels hostile or chaotic, the customer service function suffers too. None of which is to mention the reputational hit you could take by blithely tweeting (or X’ing) on through the storm.
None of this means that X is useless. Some sectors, particularly politics, media and certain technology niches, still find legitimate real-time conversation there. Some audiences remain highly active and influential. But the crucial question is whether that audience overlaps with yours. Too often, businesses seem to be staying on X out of habit, nostalgia or fear of missing out, rather than evidence of any tangible benefits.
There is also a tendency to treat social media presence as binary: either you are on a platform or you are not. In reality, the decision is about focus and intent. Maintaining a channel requires attention, moderation and judgement. Doing it badly is often worse than not doing it at all. If you’re already not putting your full attention into managing your X account, is it worth being there in the first place?
Alternatives to X for businesses
Questioning X doesn’t require endorsing any particular alternative, either. The point isn’t to chase the next shiny network, or even necessarily to make a political statement by choosing a ‘more palatable’ alternative (at least if you don’t want to). It’s about recognising that the tools available to businesses are broader than ever, and that X isn’t a box you necessarily need to tick.
Blogs still have a place, but there are a myriad of other networks, and options like newsletters, podcasts and video content to curate communities you control. Customer service can happen via email, live chat, or dedicated support platforms. Visibility and credibility come as much from consistent and relevant site content as they do from social media, something that AI has arguably made more peripheral.
Ultimately, the value of any platform should be measured by engagement with your audience. Are the people you want to reach actually there? Do they want to interact with you there? Does the environment support the kind of relationship you are trying to build? If the honest answer to those questions is “no”, then staying put out of inertia is becoming increasingly hard to justify.
Platforms change, and so should strategies. If the audience you were trying to seek is no longer on X, it may be past time to stop pining for it.
