Photo Credit: Ernst Vikne / CC by 2.0
Elton John has announced he is leaving Twitter following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform. He cites the company’s new misinformation policy.
“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,” the singer begins. “I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked,” the statement on Twitter reads. Elon Musk responded to the statement himself.
“I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?” Musk asked John. So far, the singer has not responded to Musk’s requests for clarification. But he’s not alone, as several famous faces have fled the platform following Musk’s takeover.
Jim Carrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Gigi Hadid, and White Stripes frontman Jack White have all departed the platform. Twitter stopped taking action against tweets breaching its former coronavirus rules on November 23. Before that change, the BBC reports that Twitter suspended upwards of 11,000 Twitter accounts for spreading misinformation on the platform.
Twitter’s COVID-specific policy gave accounts a ‘five strikes’ system for accounts that post false information. No action was taken against accounts posting misinformation just once. But repeated instances of misinformation would levy strikes against the account. Once five strikes were reached, the account was muted or suspended indefinitely per the policy.
Sir Elton John will headline the Glastonbury Festival in 2023 as the final date of his farewell tour. “There is no more fitting way to say goodbye to my British fans,” the singer said in an announcement. “I can’t wait to embrace the spirit of the greatest festival in the world. It’s going to be incredibly emotional for me.”
Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will finally come to a close after more than 350 dates. It was originally slated to wrap up in 2021, but multiple dates were rescheduled due to the COVID pandemic and a hip injury John suffered during a fall.