Dublin City Council to 'review its social media' following calls to boycott X
Dublin City Council will be reviewing its social media presence following calls to boycott X due to sexually explicit AI images of children on the platform.
Following an emergency motion from Green Party Councillors urging the council to cease using the social media platform formerly known as Twitter , the Council will prioritise their review in quarter one of this year “to ensure that the platforms we use, and our use of them, align with and support the City Council’s values and brand.” The Council currently operated 20 active X accounts, with approximately 30 further accounts being “the subject of an ongoing exercise to identify and consolidate social media accounts to support the coherent, streamlined identity and tone of voice of the council.” Green Party Councillor Feljin Jose previously spoke to Dublin Live about his party’s decision to leave X and their call for the council to follow suit.
His party's motion stated the platform owned by Elon Musk has become “a vehicle for abuse and the promotion of far-right, racist, and divisive politics” and described the recent Grok chatbox deepfake controversy as “the final nail in the coffin.” Cllr Jose said it’s not appropriate for the Council to continue using X and cited their paid support for premium and verified accounts as giving legitimacy to “ an organisation that has done so many despicable things.”
While a spokesperson for Dublin City Council said, despite the page having a verified gold tick, “Dublin City Libraries do not pay premium membership costs.” However, they did reveal “four of the active X accounts pay an annual fee (ranging from €84 to €395) to X or a third party for facilities including analytics, longer-form content, video capabilities and reply prioritisation.”
Cllr Jose said it’s not appropriate for the Council and other state agencies to use X as a major means of communicating to the public and said they should rely on their own website and other, less controversial, social media platforms. “If you look at the DCC Traffic one, X is their primary method of giving updates. You can’t see them without logging in, so the council is asking people to become a member of this despicable website to get updates from local government,” he said.
Cllr Jose explained that when it comes to social media “we are the product” and it’s essential for state bodies like Dublin City Council move away from the platform. Cllr Jose believes the paid for blue tick that can be seen on council-affiliated pages like Brigit: Dublin City Celebrating Women really highlights the disconnect between the good work organisers are trying to achieve and the place in which that work is promoted. “It’s gotten to the stage where the line in the sand has been crossed,” he said.
When contacted for comment about the Grok’s creation of sexual explicitly images, a spokesperson from X stated: “We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary. Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.”
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