ABC Closing Most X Accounts

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Facts

  • David Anderson, managing director of the ABC, has announced all but four of the network’s accounts on X, formerly Twitter, will be shut down because of alleged “toxic interactions” endured on the platform.1
  • Anderson said that aside from ABC News, ABC Sport, ABC Chinese, and ABC Australia, all accounts will be discontinued.1
  • ABC claims Elon Musk's management exacerbated negative interactions, which led the company to close three accounts — Insiders, News Breakfast, and ABC Politics — in a trial run. Anderson called the results "positive."2
  • The ABC, according to Anderson, gets most of its social media engagement through YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.3
  • The ABC is the third large public service broadcaster – joining NPR and PBS – to leave X.4

Sources: 1Skynews, 2NNN, 3Guardian, and 4The Desk.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Daily Mail. Since Elon Musk bought the platform, X has become more toxic and there’s no other way to protect employees at the ABC or any media entity other than to leave it at least temporarily. If Twitter doesn’t improve its content moderation, it’ll continue to grow as a cesspool and be unusable to legitimate media and right-minded citizens.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Newsweek.The ABC, like other media outlets and many public figures, is overreacting. Data shows hate speech on X has declined since Musk’s ownership began. The platform under Musk has become a bastion of free speech and has eliminated political censorship. It’s only going to get better.