A town will stop using X as a social media platform after it was linked to producing sexualised deepfake images.
Weymouth Town Council’s Finance and Governance Committee voted in favour of its media team withdrawing from using X (formerly known as Twitter) to promote the council's work.
A spokesperson for Weymouth Town Council said: “X is no longer considered to be the right platform to reach residents about the work of the council.
“Other councils and public sector organisations have already moved away from X, and following a decision made by Finance and Governance Committee, Weymouth Town Council will also do the same.
“While the council will no longer be posting on X, news will continue to be shared on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and the website.”
The decision comes as Elon Musk’s social media site and its chatbot and AI tool Grok have come under mounting pressure amid widespread concerns over sexualised AI deepfakes.
The AI tool has been used to create fake inappropriate images and videos of real people and automatically post them online. Some of the deepfakes generated by Grok have been of children, it has been found.
Ofcom launched an investigation and X has since said it has brought in measures to address the issues raised.
Town council documents released prior to the meeting say: “In light of recent events that saw X’s integrated AI tool Grok being used to for unacceptable ‘deepfake’ activities, councillors are asked to formally agree to remove the platform from the council’s media suite.”
READ MORE: Council will vote on whether to cut ties with X platform
The council previously paused its use of X as ‘it has become progressively ineffective at communicating with local communities.’
Instead of X, residents can get updates via Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, and LinkedIn, as well as on the council’s website, in the local press, broadcast media, noticeboards, and on the seafront advertising screens.
The council said it will continue to explore evolving and emerging channels as a way of making sure it continues to reach communities with important messages about council services in a 'respectful and morally responsible way'.
Share