Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge leaves X and everyone seems to be making the identical joke
Clifton Suspension Bridge has quit social media platform X in a growing boycott of the Elon Musk owned site.
The bridge, designed by famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, spans the Avon Gorge linking the city to North Somerset.
In a post on X, the account said the platform had been a “wonderful place” to engage with its audience for 15 years but “recent changes” since the platform was taken over by Tesla boss Musk had made bosses reconsider.
It said: “With the rise of inappropriate content and decrease in meaningful engagement with our followers, we have chosen to no longer post to this account.”
The bridge account, which has 10,000 followers, had been used to share traffic updates and closure warnings with motorists in Bristol.
(Image: Getty Images)
The departing account reassured followers: “You will always be able to stay up-to-date with what is happening at the Clifton Suspension Bridge, including bridge closures and maintenance, through our website.”
The post attracted thousands of comments – with many posting “this is a bridge too far”.
Former MP George Galloway also chimed in and wrote “You couldn’t make this up”, just days after launching into an online tirade about how his posts on X were no longer earning him enough money.
It comes after The Guardian newspaper also left the site, branding it “far-right and toxic” following Trump supporter Musk’s use of the platform to “shape political discourse”.
A statement from the newspaper read: “This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.
“The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.
“Social media can be an important tool for news organisations and help us to reach new audiences but, at this point, X now plays a diminished role in promoting our work.”
Other organisations have also recently quit X, include the Berlin Film Festival and the North Wales police force.
Musk, who describes himself as a ‘free speech absolutist’ bought the social media platform in 2022 for $44bn.
The EU and campaigners have raised concerns over the way Musk is running the platform and the type of content that has been allowed on it.
Among those previously banned individuals to have been let back on the platform include self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, British far-right figure Tommy Robinson and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
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