Paul Holmes 21 Nov 2024 // 9:09AM GMT
PRovokeMedia will no longer be posting from its official Twitter (currently X) account. We have set up an official account on BlueSky, and will of course continue to be active on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
I deleted my personal account on the platform earlier this year as it became apparent that X was no longer of value for news gathering—the sheer volume of bots, trolls, and fake blue checkmark accounts impersonating real individuals having rendered the site dangerous to reporters looking to source stories.
But in the past few months—and particularly in the weeks before the election—it became apparent that the site was not only useless, but also dangerous.
The public relations profession depends on credible, trusted and transparent sources of information to function. To continue to participate on a platform that promotes massive quantities of mis and disinformation makes no sense for us or anyone else seeking to build trust.
Moreover, under the ownership of Elon Musk, X had become a cesspool of hate, the racism, misogyny and homophobia creating the kind of toxic environment no responsible brand would want to be a part of.
And Musk has revealed himself to be the enemy of free exchange of ideas upon which our profession depends, using his vast resources to pervert the legal system and sue companies gulty of nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights.
So while other members of the PRovokeMedia team may maintain a presence on the site, the official PRovokeMedia account is no longer active. I believe we can maintain a far-reaching social media presence without compromising our values or sacrificing our integrity.
In part, that is because LinkedIn has emerged as the most critical platform for engagement with our audience, which consists primarily of business leaders. In part it is because BlueSky now provides us with a platform that values credible information, community-building, and First Amendment freedoms.
We would like to invite all of our followers on X to join us either on LinkedIn or on BlueSky or to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Over the coming months there will be other major changes to our website, our newsletters, our content strategy and our business model that will provide our readers around the world with new and exciting ways to engage with us and our content.