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Music

10th Dec 2022

Elton John quits Twitter saying it ‘saddens’ him how ‘misinformation is now being used to divide the world’

Steve Hopkins

‘Misinformation is now being used to divide our world.’

Elton John is the latest celebrity to call it quits on Twitter, saying changes in policy will “allow misinformation to flourish unchecked”.

The singer tweeted on Friday that he was leaving the platform, which billionaire Elon Musk took over just over a month ago, over misinformation and an unspecified “policy change.”

He wrote: “All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together.

“Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.

“I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”

Twitter has been at the centre of a number of controversies since Musk’s $44 billion takeover, most notably through the antisemitic rants of Kanye West, who was allowed back on after earlier being kicked off. Donald Trump has also returned to the platform.

Musk has also announced an amnesty on banned accounts, in the name of free speech, and will no longer enforce a policy to combat misinformation about the covid pandemic. He’s also fired thousands of employees and is overhauling the Twitter Blue subscription, including charging a monthly fee the verification service.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss responded to Elton on Friday, saying “I love your music. Hope you come back.”

Musk then asked if there was “any misinformation in particular” that John was concerned about.

Sir Elton has not elaborated on his post.

He is one of a host of high-profile figures and celebrities to ditch the platform in recent weeks. Others include, Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Carrey, Shonda Rhimes, David Simon, Jamela Jamil, Trent Reznor, Gigi Hadid, Toni Braxton, Téa Leoni, Jack White, Liz Phair, Stephen Fry, Alex Winter and Ken Olin.