Leaving X: A statement

In the last couple months, the team at Collective Aid have been discussing and reflecting upon our use of X, formerly known as Twitter, as an organisation. As we start 2025, we are in unanimous agreement that our continued presence would not just compromise our work, but also our core values. Our mission is to advocate for displaced people with compassionate and fact-based advocacy. It is no longer possible to operate in this capacity in the environment that Elon Musk has curated with X. For this reason we have decided to stop posting and engaging on the platform with immediate effect. 

Under Elon Musk’s leadership, X has become a platform that not only tolerates but now actively amplifies misleading narratives about displacement as part of wider far-right and fascist discourse. Our work is not trivial, and neither are the lives of those we stand in solidarity with, which is why we are so deeply concerned that figures and groups such as Tommy Robinson, Reform UK and Alternative for Deutschland have found X to be so welcoming of their xenophobic and reductive views on human rights. Collective Aid works to challenge hatred and promote truthful narratives about displacement. It is no longer tenable to continue to operate on a platform that has so determinedly become a symbol of the forces we work to dismantle. 

For the time being, we’re not going to be moving over to any additional short form content platforms to replace X, but we’ll be watching some of the alternatives closely, to decide when the right time might be for us to make the move. Until then, we know that we can continue to amplify our voice and the stories we have been entrusted to tell via our website and existing social media pages, where we will continue to focus on impactful storytelling, and research that advances the rights and dignity of the people we serve. 

To our supporters and donors, who give us the freedom to make our choices according to principles, we say thank you. You have made our decision to walk away very easy. To those who are complicit in facilitating and spreading the hateful agenda of Musk and Robinson, our message is clear: You will not win.