Image: Joseph Frank, via Unsplash
UK higher education technology body responds to “direction in which X has been taken”
Higher education technology body Jisc has put out a final post on Elon Musk’s social network X, saying it will cease “all activity” on the platform.
The move was made due to “recent events that are incompatible with our values as an organisation”, the organisation said, adding that other Jisc-owned profiles including those for the Higher Education Statistics Agency and Prospects will also cease activity.
Jisc did not specify which events it was referring to. There has been widespread criticism of X, formerly Twitter, in recent weeks after disinformation on the Southport attacks spread over the network was seen as playing a part in far-right riots in British cities.
Musk has been accused of “stirring the pot” on the riots by engaging with a post about the violence by far-right activist and convicted criminal Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and claiming in a separate post that “civil war” in the UK was “inevitable”.
‘Cease all activity’
Jisc said it would not be shutting down the profiles entirely, but “simply cease all activity” on each account, starting with its main @Jisc profile.
The X account for OpenAthens—which gives customers access to online resources for libraries, publishers and other organisations—is included, as well as the Graduate Outcomes Survey profile (@GraduateOutcomes) and the Hesa (@UKHESA) account.
Also ceasing activity are the profiles for Prospects and Prospects Luminate, which provide information for students and offers search engines for the graduate labour market respectively.
Other affiliate profiles that were not included in the statement such as @Jiscmail, @JiscLibraryHub @JiscScotland and @JiscNI all retweeted the post from the main account, and Jisc subsequently confirmed they will also cease activity.
Protecting identities
Jisc said the profiles are remaining on X to ensure there is not “misuse of our identity”, and that no posts will be made after 21 August—but its major incidents account will remain active.
The decision was made, it explained further, after consulting with its “stakeholders, staff and communities”.
“We hope you join us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn,” the company said.
A Jisc spokesperson told Research Professional News: “We made this decision in consultation with people within our industry and with our members—it was not made due to any one event, but more the direction in which X has been taken.”