Elton John quits Twitter: ‘Misinformation is being used to divide our world’

Elton John has become the latest high profile figure to announce he is quitting Twitter.

The music icon, who is currently on his last ever global tour, said that a “recent change in policy” on from the site would allow misinformation to grow, prompting him to quit.

He is the latest of several high profile figures to quit the site in recent weeks, with Whoopi Goldberg, Trent Reznor, Jack White and Jim Carrey also announcing their intentions to leave in the wake of Elon Musk’s controversial takeover.

“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,” wrote Elton on Twitter.

“I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”

It is possible that the “policy change” mentioned by John refers to Twitter’s recent confirmation that it will no longer enforce its longstanding Covid misinformation policy.

Between January 2020 and September 2022, the site suspended more than 11,000 accounts for breaking Covid misinformation rules, while also removing content on similar grounds.

Confirming the reversal in a note posted to the site last week, Twitter said: “Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy.”

That move came after Musk faced controversy for sacking a huge wave of Twitter workers, including outsourced content moderators who are tasked with tracking abuse on the site.

Musk has also sparked backlash by reinstating the accounts of Donald Trump and Kanye West, only for the latter to be banned once more when he began sharing anti-semitic messages and imagery.

Others have also cited similar concerns to Elton as the reason for their departure. Reznor said the site had become a “toxic environment”, while Jack White branded the decision to reinstate Donald Trump an “asshole move”.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed last week that Elton John  will headline the Sunday night of Glastonbury 2023, in what will be the final UK show of the music icon’s last ever tour.

Elton, who has never played the Worthy Farm event before, will headline the Sunday night of the festival on June 25 2023.

Elton said: “I couldn’t be more excited to be headlining the Pyramid Stage. As the end of my Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour comes into view, there is no more fitting way to say goodbye to my British fans. They have been beyond brilliant, and have supported me through all the highs and lows of my career.

““Every week I speak to new artists on my radio show and Glastonbury is often cited as a pivotal moment in launching their careers – the festival’s genuine, enthusiastic support for the best emerging talent is something I’ve long admired. I’ve been talking to Emily Eavis about it over the last few weeks and I can’t wait to embrace the spirit of the greatest festival in the world. It’s going to be incredibly emotional.”