Elton John is the latest famous person to leave Twitter.
The singer said on Twitter on Friday that he was leaving the site because of false information and a “policy change.”
All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together,
John said.
Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.
He added,
I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.
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.— Elton John (@eltonofficial) December 9, 2022
A source asked John’s representatives to explain what policy change he was talking about but did not hear back right away.
Since he bought Twitter for $44 billion at the end of October, billionaire Elon Musk has made and promised a lot of big changes.
On Friday, Musk replied to John by saying,
I love your music. Hope you come back.
Musk then asked John if he was worried about “any false information in particular.”
Some of Musk’s changes have been criticized by people who say they will make it easier to spread false information.
- Last week, Twitter stopped enforcing rules that were meant to stop false information about the coronavirus.
- Twitter has brought back accounts that had been banned in the past, like that of former President Donald Trump.
- Musk is changing Twitter Blue, including charging a monthly fee for the blue checkmark that shows that a public figure’s or institution’s account is verified (Musk has repeatedly pushed back the full launch of the new Twitter Blue to address impersonation issues).
Musk’s changes have also caused other famous people to leave Twitter. Singer Sara Bareilles and TV producer Shonda Rhimes haven’t tweeted in over a month.
