Effective immediately, CARTOONISTS RIGHTS will cease posting content to Twitter, now known as “X”, until such time as there is a change in ownership and a marked improvement in the website’s policies and functionality.
Following recent changes in policy and performance on the Twitter/’X” social media platform, and the public actions of its owner, Cartoonist Rights shall stop using his site as a means of outward communication with immediate effect.
Theses issues include: greater exposure to the processes of training proprietary artificial intelligence, and the removal of titles or headlines from web links posted to the site, disrupting searches and benefiting false and misleading posts; Elon Musk’s endorsement of antisemitic disinformation immediately after the Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7th and of a racist conspiracy theory on November 15th, a statement that this supposed free-speech absolutist would be banning expressions of Palestinian solidarity from the platform on the grounds of alleged genocidal intent, his repeated validation of the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory, and his tacit endorsement of numerous peddlers of hatred including defamer of bereaved parents Alex Jones and alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate; the news that he would sue independent watchdog Media Matters, and, most recently, evidence that “X” is turning a blind eye to racism, homophobia and sexual harassment on their platform as a matter of policy.
Our account will not be deleted entirely as some cartoonists may still wish to use it to contact us, with the caveat that we believe “X” (like all unencrypted platforms) should not be used to transmit sensitive information
If they can, we encourage readers to follow us on Bluesky. We may also be found on Mastodon, and Facebook and Instagram as well. We would also recommend subscribing to our monthly newsletter.
BLUESKY – @cartoonistsrights.org
FACEBOOK – @cartoonistsrights
INSTAGRAM – @cartoonistsrights
MASTODON – @cartoonistsrights@newsie.social
In reaching this decision, our Executive Director Terry Anderson said:
“Social media is a double-edged sword for cartoonists, bringing the the opportunity to share their work widely, rapidly, and cheaply. With that opportunity comes backlash, often organised and sometimes abusive in the extreme, especially toward women (we covered these topics in our recent report).
“Those in charge of these platforms have rarely, if ever, protected true freedom of expression. Nor can they be relied upon to evenhandedly apply their own rules and guidelines. For while now it has been very apparent that many account holders who consistently violate the ‘X’ policies on hateful content are permitted to continue posting, while those expressing legitimate political opinions are suppressed. The revelations of the past week confirm this is not failure, but deliberate policy that comes from the top of the company.
“On a constant basis I review our social media presence in order to establish whether it is worth making the effort required to maintain any kind of following. In the past, Twitter provided us with a means to make some very important connections. I note that other organisations are grappling with the question of whether or not those benefits outweigh the bad.
“However it is now quite clear that the owner of the site is intent upon making ‘X’ useless to those acting in good faith, and a haven for rampant misinformation and poisonous invective. I cannot justify continued use of its service, nor can I disagree with the analysis of Anne Hidalgo; enough is enough.”
