Elton John leaves Twitter over misinformation and policy changes

Singer Elton John is the latest celebrity on the list of huge names to quit Twitter. After Elon Musk’s takeover, several celebrities have called it quits on Twitter. 

Billionaire Elon Musk has had a busy couple of months since he purchased Twitter for $44 billion. Since then, Musk has been shaking things up, introducing and promising sweeping changes to the platform. Others have regarded some of these changes with less enthusiasm. 

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

In particular, his efforts to reform the platform’s rules on disseminating information have met with staunch criticism from those who believe it will open the doors to an influx of dangerous misinformation. 

Elton John cited misinformation and a sudden “change in policy” as his reasons for departure, leaving many of his fans pondering what could have caused him to take such an extreme step. The 75-year-old singer is one of the most active stars on Twitter, with millions of followers across the globe.

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

Alongside Elton John, other notable names have already left Twitter. Some of them are TV producer Shonda Rhimes and singer Sara Bareilles. Both of them haven’t tweeted for more than a month. 

Elton John says he's quitting Twitter: 'it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world' https://t.co/BXyBvYxxXI

— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) December 9, 2022

Moreover, Insider reported reaching out to the singer for comment to clarify what policy Change the singer is referring to. But the singer hasn’t responded yet.

Twitter Misinformation

Some of the Twitter updates that critics claim would lead to “misinformation” are as follows: 

• Twitter made a controversial decision to allow the return of certain previously banned accounts, most notably former President Donald Trump.

• Last week, Twitter decided to end enforcing policies related to curbing coronavirus misinformation on their platform.

• Elon Musk also announced that he’s shaking things up with his Twitter Blue subscription—users will now have to pay a monthly fee to get the famous blue checkmark.