Being regrettably informed that Trump has rattled the states, it seems that there has also been a ricochet on one particular social media platform: X. Musk’s social networking service has taken the debate too far, stepping over the line with controversial conversations and offensive threads that disregard any Democratic support. With this in mind, is time up for the app?

One reason for outrage following insensitivity on the platform comes from the lack of safeguarding, with Musk’s early decision to cut 85% of staff having a detrimental impact on the management of hostile tweets. Without enough people overlooking dangerous comments, the app is a breeding ground for hateful content that faces no consequences. Therefore, the foundations were already built for chaos post-election.

Although the blame can be placed on the app itself, failing to monitor certain posts and content, the issue also lies with the app’s users. People are free to glorify hateful tweets in a space where they can hide behind screens and encourage similar behaviour without any repercussions. Misogynist Andrew Tate found opportunity to jump on the bandwagon after having his account reinstated, posting harmful content. Having his say on female rights and conspiring in favour of extremely sexist ideas, Tate hasn’t been the only one adding fuel to the fire. Nick Fuentes, far-right American podcaster, coined the phrase: “Your body, my choice”, receiving over 50,000 likes and thousands of retweets. With an army of Republicans placing pressure on already wounded women and abortion rights being openly mocked, X has become an exceedingly unsafe platform.

ISD researchers provide us with further information, suggesting that these tweets have opened new avenues for young people to spread extremely harmful messages written by themselves. They reported that young girls at school have been told to “sleep with one eye open tonight”. The app has seen a huge decline in activity since the start of this rise in misogyny—all fuelled by the election results.

Not only losing day-to-day users, X has also suffered the loss of wide-reaching platforms and academics. The Guardian has chosen to stop posting from their official X accounts, instead only using the platform for research purposes. It seems that the influx of hate speech has put off multiple academics too, including former Southern New Hampshire University president Paul LeBlanc, who has described the app as a “toxic cesspool”.

It goes without saying that Musk’s role in the backlash post-election has not benefitted his platform. As one of Trump’s fellow Republicans, he boosted millions of dollars into the campaign in the hopes of overrule. Musk’s own mother has even been accused of a tweet using extremely racist language following the election.

Broadly speaking, there are multiple factors which have resulted in the app’s decline, and given that users have become aware of Musk’s own political standing and carelessness, the multi-millionaire hasn’t helped his case.