A survey conducted by Nature, the well-known science website, has revealed that thousands of scientists are switching from Twitter/X to other social networks. According to the data, former users no longer trusted the platform.
Why do scientists leave Twitter?
Since he took control of the social network in 2022, Elon Musk has made several changes that have not been well received by the public. Some of them were: layoffs, reduction in content moderation, creation of paid accounts that jeopardized the Blue Seal verification system, and limiting the number of tweets that users can see.
According to statements by some of the scientists interviewed by Nature, these changes ended up causing a large increase in the number of trolls and the proliferation of false information. Scientists used to use the platform to share their work. Now they no longer want to be linked to an environment in which misinformation has grown so much.
The survey conducted by Nature included responses from 9,200 scientists who were or still are Twitter/X users. According to data:
- More than 50% of respondents have reduced the time they spend on the platform in the last 6 months
- 1% of respondents (4,239) opened accounts on other social networks
- 7% of respondents (610) stopped using Twitter completely
Among the reasons cited by survey participants for switching from Twitter to other networks, the greater number of fake accounts and the growth of hate speech were also highlighted, in the latter case including scientific denialism and racism.
Where scientists are going and new challenges
The Nature survey also found out which other social networks scientists who leave Twitter migrate to. Of the 9,200 participants, 4,239 (46.1%) have already opened accounts on other networks. So far, the most popular options are Mastodon, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads and Facebook.
- Mastodon - 46.9% (1,976)
- LinkedIn - 34.8% (1,467)
- Instagram - 27.6% (1,161)
- Threads - 24.9% (1,048)
- Facebook - 22.4% (942)
Although they are finding new outlets, scientists migrating from Twitter have a new concern: a fragmented communication landscape for the scientific community. As Inger Mewburn, an education and technology researcher at the Australian National University in Canberra, points out, Twitter offered the advantage of being the main platform for researchers.
"People would just go to that hashtag and see everyone talking about a very particular interest," she explained to Nature. If another social network fails to occupy Twitter's space (Threads is trying), researchers will have to consult several applications to obtain data that they previously found in one place.
Losing Twitter scientists will have more negative consequences
The continuation of this movement by scientists to abandon Twitter could have other negative consequences not only for the scientific community or the platform, but also for the population in general.
In the midst of so much fake news and misinformation, scientists were some of the people who continued to fight to circulate correct and verified information. Its removal from Twitter leaves space for misinformation to spread. And this could affect other users on the network.
Another consequence would directly affect the scientific community, which saw Twitter as a tool to increase diversity, inclusion and equity in the academic world. The possibility of losing the sense of community that the platform has provided is something that worries scientists, especially underrepresented groups.
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