England and Wales Attorney General Richard Hermer has ordered his office to stop posting on X, citing the platform’s growing volume of violent and racist content. According to The Guardian, the ministry’s last post on X appeared on Friday. From now on, the office will no longer use the platform officially, except for countering disinformation.
Hermer made the decision after riots earlier this month in Southampton and Belfast, amid concerns that bad actors were exploiting X to divide communities. On June 3, 11 police officers were injured in Southampton during unrest that began after an 18-year-old, Henry Novak, bled to death from a knife wound while lying on the ground in handcuffs. Novak had been restrained because the attacker had falsely called police and claimed he was the victim of a racist assault.
Six days later, riots broke out in Belfast after far-right activists called protests over a stabbing carried out by a Sudanese refugee. During those disturbances, which were described in Ireland as a “pogrom,” homes belonging to ethnic minorities were attacked. In both cases, far-right activists on X, some backed by Elon Musk, urged a harsh response to the initial incident.
“We cannot allow a small group of billionaires to sow division in this country,” Hermer said in a speech last week, referring to social media platforms. “We cannot allow them to draw lines between our communities.”
