It comes amid a huge exodus from Elon Musk’s social media giant – which has been accused of being “toxic”. And Mr Musk – who last night was given a government job by Donald Trump – was accused of using it to “shape political discourse”
Keir Starmer and government departments will keep using X/Twitter, No10 said today.
It comes amid a huge exodus from Elon Musk’s social media giant.
Today the Guardian announced it would no longer post to X/ Twitter, branding it a “toxic media platform” which its owner has been able to use to “shape political discourse”.
But no conversations have taken place within government about whether departments and ministers should keep using the site.
Asked if Mr Starmer was comfortable with his government using X/Twitter, his official spokesman said: “No change to our position in relation to using social media for communicating.”
Overnight, Donald Trump announced Mr Musk, who heavily campaigned for the President-elect – particularly in the crucial swing-state of Pennsylvania – to run an exercise to cut government spending.
Mr Musk has claimed he can cut £2 trillion from the US budget – which is more than the entire discretionary spending of the United States government.
The erratic tech billionaire was named by Trump to a government efficiency advisory role. Musk, Some close to Trump and his team now see Musk as the second most influential figure in Trump’s immediate orbit, after Susie Wiles, the campaign manager who is Trump’s incoming chief of staff.
It is not yet clear how the organisation will operate, but Mr Trump said in a statement that Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”, adding the move will shock government systems.
Responding to the announcement on X, Mr Musk said: “Department of Government Efficiency. The merch will be (fire emojis).”
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