Eventually too Elton John announced the farewell to Twitter. The iconic British pop star thus adds to the already long list of artists, celebrities and show business personalities who have left the platform following the controversial maneuvers of Elon Musk.
The announcement comes with a tweet, in which the singer mentions the recent changes in the platform’s policies, denouncing the spread of disinformation on the blue social network.
Elton John: ‘I have decided not to use Twitter anymore’
Elton John’s post (which you can find below) reads: “All my life I have tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how disinformation is now being used to divide our world. I have decided not to use Twitter anymore, as the recent change in guidelines will allow disinformation to thrive 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
John then joins other colleagues such as Jack White (former White Stripes and now soloist) and Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails frontman). The latter had defined Elon Musk’s recent work as “embarrassing”. Interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Reznor added: “We don’t need the arrogance of the billionaire class that comes with the pretension of solving all problems. Still, even without him [Elon Musk, ndr], had become a toxic environment. For my mental health I feel the need to detach myself from it. I don’t feel good staying there anymore.”
The following day it was the turn of Jack White, who deleted his profile and that of his label (Third Man Records) after learning that Elon Musk had restored Donald Trump’s account. Not just music though. The long list of celebrities who have left Twitter includes actors, screenwriters and well-known TV presenters.
Since Musk bought Twitter, the platform has put an end to its COVID-19 disinformation policy. Meanwhile the new CEO has fired several top company executives and employees, many of whom are engaged in content moderation. Then he announced the arrival of a paid account verification system (blue ticks) and suspended the accounts of those who impersonated him. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the restoration of the accounts of Donald Trump and Kanye West (the latter suspended again after a few tweets). The hashtag even trended for a few hours #RIPTwitterwhich prophesied the imminent death of the social network.
Returning to happier news, Elton John, albeit without Twitter, will continue his farewell tour as headliner al Glastonbury Festival 2023, next summer. It will be Rocket Man’s first time on stage at the iconic British music festival.