On Friday, Elton John announced that he will no longer be using Twitter. His decision to quit the social media platform came just weeks after billionaire business magnate Elon Musk finalized his acquisition of the site.
The 75-year-old singer kept his announcement brief and attributed the decision to a change in policy. He alleged that the policy changes would result in misinformation spreading on the site unchecked.
He explained that he couldn’t get behind a site that he believes is dividing people. As a singer, he stated that he has tried to use his music to bring others together.
Meanwhile, he sees the flow of misinformation as something that can be used to divide others. Since the site isn’t aligning with his values and desire to unite people, he chose to leave it behind.
John has been active on Twitter since 2010. However, his announcement to leave the platform, which he pinned on his Twitter page, was seemingly his final activity on the site.
He boasted 1.1 million followers at the time that he quit Twitter. John’s activity on the site tapered off on November 29 before he announced his decision to leave.
Why is Elton John quitting Twitter?
After 12 years on the platform, John decided to quit Twitter, seemingly in response to the changes Musk has made to the site.
Musk commented on John’s Tweet shortly after the musician posted it. He offered his admiration for the singer and his hopes that he might come back to the platform.
However, he also asked the singer what “misinformation” he was particularly concerned about. John has not responded to the Twitter CEO yet.
John’s fear of the spread of misinformation may have stemmed from Musk’s policy changes regarding freedom of speech. One of Musk’s goals as the CEO of Twitter was to cut back on censorship and allow more freedom of speech.
Going off of this idea, he has reinstated some accounts that were previously banned for being controversial, including Kathie Griffin, Jorden Peterson, and Babylon Bee. However, he emphasized that negative/hateful Tweets will be “deboosted” and “demonetized” to prevent them from gaining an audience.
While John didn’t specifically reference Twitter’s new freedom of speech policy, it hasn’t been well-received by everyone. Some fear that the new policy will lead to hate speech, controversial views, and fake news circulating on the site in the name of free speech.
Will Elton John return to Twitter?
So far, John has given no indication that he will come back to Twitter. However, he has not yet completely deactivated or deleted the account, meaning he could return if desired.
Meanwhile, the singer still boasts other social media accounts that his fans can follow instead of Twitter. He has both a public Instagram and Facebook account.
Additionally, he actually has a much larger following on these platforms than on Twitter. He has over 4.3 million followers on Instagram and 8.1 million followers on Facebook.
He posts on both sites fairly regularly, providing updates for his fans about his career or small snippets of his personal life.
His departure from Twitter means that he joined a growing list of celebrities who have left the platform since Musk took over. Others who have left include Shonda Rhimes, Toni Braxton, Gigi Hadid, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Most cited similar reasons as John and reiterated fears of the platform becoming a source of hate or misinformation. Given that John’s other social media profiles are active and have large followings, his departure from Twitter won’t impact his social media presence or influence too much.