A SCOTTISH council has voted to leave Twitter/X due to its "promotion of harmful and extremist content".
A LibDem motion at the Labour-led South Lanarkshire Council passed on Wednesday morning despite Tory objections.
The motion, which states the local authority will withdraw from the platform over time, passed with 54 members in favour, and nine voting with the Tory amendment to reject it.
The motion read: “South Lanarkshire Council shares widespread public concerns that X (formerly Twitter) now allows the promotion and dissemination of harmful and extremist content, including content that is unlawful, abusive or false.”
The council “emphasises its responsibility to foster a safe environment for everyone in South Lanarkshire, and its determination to oppose extremist and hateful ideologies that cause untold harm and suffering”.
It continued: ”South Lanarkshire Council resolves to cease the use of X as a platform for general engagement with the public. Instead, use of X will be restricted to the broadcast of alerts that provide information that local residents need to know immediately”
The SNP added an amendment with details on a transfer to Bluesky, which was accepted, with the main change being to introduce a form of self-verification that mirrors Twitter/X's blue tick system.
The council will now "work to build its audience on alternative platforms", according to the motion.
This follows Renfrewshire Council having left the platform in January of this year, though the decision by South Lanarkshire to leave X marks the first political decision to leave the platform rather than an operational one made by council officers.
Edinburgh City Council will discuss a similar motion to review social media use amid concerns over the content that resides on the platform.
Numerous Scottish organisations made the decision to leave or scale back their presence on Twitter/X this year. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival announced its departure from the platform due to "negativity and misinformation", and numerous charities have left Elon Musk’s social media app.
With worries growing over disinformation and hateful content on Twitter/X, more councils and Scottish institutions could follow suit in leaving the site.
Donald Trump’s administration, namely JD Vance, levied heavy criticism over Scottish policy with the vice president being accused of spreading disinformation regarding the Scotland's abortion buffer zones.
Elon Musk himself has taken aim at Scottish policy, and came under regular criticism from former first minister Humza Yousaf.
First Minister John Swinney said he would have "no truck" with anyone buoying far-right sentiment after Musk appeared to throw a Nazi salute at a Trump rally.
