DIOCESES are leaving the social-media site X (formerly Twitter), referring to concerns about the direction of the platform, which was acquired by the South African businessman Elon Musk in 2022.
Last week, the account of the diocese of Winchester carried a statement announcing that it was “no longer active” on the platform, while the diocese of Norwich announced that it would leave on 31 January, alongside the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher.
This followed a post on the diocese of Bristol account on 6 January, setting out a “conscious decision” to stop using X. “As a diocese, we felt growing discomfort about the current direction of the platform and its negative effect on members of our clergy and our wider diocesan community and have concluded that it no longer aligns with our values.” The diocese has an account on an alternative site, BlueSky, where the Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Revd Vivienne Faull, is also present.
In a statement issued at the end of November, the diocese of Salisbury said that it, and its three bishops, had also decided to leave the site. They used the same language of “growing discomfort”, and referred to a “negative effect that some debate have had on social cohesion and church unity. We believe that, on balance, it serves polarisation and profit rather than connection and understanding.”
The statement continued: “We aren’t leaving because we shy away from difficult decisions, but because we believe that these should be conducted in ways that honour human dignity and build up our common life.”
Since the acquisition of X by Mr Musk, who took the site into private ownership, concerns have been raised about a decline in moderation and the amplification of misinformation, hate speech, and extremism. Last year, it had 368 million monthly active users worldwide. In the UK, it is the third most popular social-media site, and has about ten per cent of market share. Facebook has 60 per cent.
This week, the Church Times approached nine dioceses whose X accounts had not posted any content in recent weeks or even months. A spokeswoman for Canterbury, where the account has been dormant since 2023, said that a “pragmatic decision” had been taken to concentrate social-media efforts on Facebook and Instagram, “where we have more effective and positive engagement”; only one person had asked about it being dormant.
A spokeswoman for the diocese of Chester, where nothing has been posted since last month, said: “As a small and relatively new team, we are rarely posting on X because we are not resourced sufficiently to monitor, respond, and properly engage in conversations. However, we are aware of the ethical debate and concerns expressed by some clergy and other dioceses who have already left X. We are giving this our consideration as part of a wider review of our Diocesan communications strategy and all platforms.”
Nothing has been posted on the diocese of Ely’s account since 2023. A spokesman said that the decision not to post was “not in response to any particular issue, simply that our efforts have been directed through other channels — such as Facebook — in preference, as time resources have allowed”.
The diocese of Oxford, whose account has also been dormant since 2023, said that it was undertaking work to “consider our priorities for social media presence”.
A spokeswoman for the diocese of Truro, where nothing has been posted since last month, said: “We haven’t left, but have definitely made a conscious decision to not use it as much, if at all. We have joined Bluesky. There are a number of reasons. Our main audiences are elsewhere. The content and tone of X is quite toxic a lot of the time and with limited resources we are focusing on those platforms that help us connect best with our key audiences and provide a more positive space for us and our users.”
A spokesman for the diocese of Sodor & Man, whose account has been dormant since 2017, said: “We’re mainly on web FB and Bluesky now. The latter having a feel of X when it all first began.”
The other dioceses — Carlisle, Coventry and Derby — had not responded at the time of going to press.
Commenting on X, some clergy questioned diocesan decisions to leave the site. The Bishop of Barking, the Rt Revd Lynne Cullens, described it as “disappointing. . . Never was there greater need for the Established Church to maintain presence, and to bring an on-going Christian critique of the site’s political trajectory and increasingly malign influence.”
The Vicar of Sholing, the Revd Garry Roberts, said that he was “saddened” that Winchester had decided to leave. “We follow Jesus who commanded us to go into all the world, not just the places that suit us and feel comfortable in. Sad that they will not be proclaiming the Gospel in a place that desperately needs it.”
Since its launch in 2006, Twitter/X has proved a popular form for Anglican discussion and debate. After social-media usage has appeared in disciplinary proceedings and news headlines, national and diocesan social-media guidelines have been produced for the clergy (News, 5 July 2019).
Last year, a review of trust and trustworthiness in the Church of England reported that the “harm of social media” had been a recurrent theme in discussions (News, 28 June 2024). While the reviewers accepted “its remarkable value in connecting people and sharing information”, it said, “the behaviour within and outside the Church of posting comments without regard for those about whom or to whom we are writing has become an immensely destructive behaviour in the use of social media.”
Harm was not always the intention, it suggested. “What some readers receive as hurtful and disparaging, the author and their allies may believe to be words spoken with integrity, prophetically challenging a culture they feel called to speak against.”
The Church Times remains on X. We continue to regularly review our social media presence and explore new platforms. You can also find the Church Times on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky.