UK: Department For Culture, Media & Sport Leaves X

Is this a responsible stand against hate or a dereliction of duty by officials who can't take criticism?

JUL 2·Updated JUL 3

UK: Department For Culture, Media & Sport Leaves X

Story

Above: Lisa Nandy leaving 10 Downing Street in London, England on June 23, 2026. Image credit: Toby Shepheard/Getty Images

The Facts

U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced on Thursday that both herself and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport were leaving X, making it the second government department to quit the platform after the Attorney General's Office departed last month.
Holyrood
BBC News
Financial Times
Nandy said the platform "now favors abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate" and that it "isn't healthy for our democracy or our communities." She said she would remain active on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Lisa Nandy on X
Attorney General Lord Hermer defended his office's earlier departure from X before the Justice Committee in June, saying his department could engage in "serious debate, detailed debate, respectful debate" without using a platform that "constantly descends to racism and misogyny."
Independent
BBC News
The Times (UK)
The government suspended all paid advertising on X in April 2023, whilst a review of the government's use of X is also underway. A Downing Street spokesperson has however told The Guardian that neither outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer nor the government planned to stop posting on the platform.
Information Commissioner's Office
House of Lords
guardian
Latest data by the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows that 17% of U.K. adults use X, behind TikTok (21%), Instagram (49%), YouTube (61%), Facebook (63%) and WhatsApp (82%).
Reutersinstitute
This comes as X is being sued by Labour MP Jess Asato, who alleges that xAI's Grok created images of her in a bikini earlier this year. In January, the government passed legislation concerning non-consentual deepfake content following accusations of criminal imagery on the platform.
The Telegraph
guardian
GOV.UK
GOV.UK

Sources Split

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The Spin

Left narrative

X has become a megaphone for far-right violence and misinformation, with government activity on the platform only legitimizing illegal activity. Whilst X continues to amplify racist content and incite real-world disorder in cities like Southampton and Belfast, it would be indefensible for the department in charge of the U.K.'s media landscape to keep using the platform.

Guardian

Lisa Nandy on X

Right narrative

This is about nothing other than Nandy's inability to face criticism of her government's authoritarian policies. Public officials are supposed to withstand criticism, not flee it, and if they really wish to avoid genuinely abusive content, X has a mute button for such cases. A culture secretary who regulates media but refuses to engage on the most consequential platform in the world has simply stopped doing her job.

David Frost on X

Glenn Greenwald on X

Limited Coverage

This story currently has limited reporting from right-leaning sources. We will continue to monitor all major outlets and update our coverage as additional perspectives become available.