An account dedicated to a bridge in Southwest England said it would stop posting on X, formerly Twitter, due to the rise of "inappropriate content" on the platform, prompting a wave of jokes and memes.
Clifton Suspension Bridge is a 160-year-old structure which links Bristol to North Somerset. Since 2009, the bridge has maintained its own account on X, sharing updates about the crossing, highlights from its history and general news about the area.
"X (formerly known as Twitter) has been a wonderful place to engage with our audience over the past 15 years," the account posted on Monday. "But the changes made to the platform in recent times has caused us to reconsider our use of it."
Newsweek has contacted Clifton Suspension Bridge's Bridgemaster's Office and X's press department via email for comment.
The post, which has amassed 3 million views and over 1,400 retweets, has drawn a flurry of ironic commemorations from other X users, who have poked fun at what appeared to be a politically charged announcement from an account focused on bridge-related news.
One user shared the bridge's statement alongside a clip of Vince McMahon, cofounder of the WWE, tearily recounting the last conversation he had with wrestling legend André the Giant and saying "He was special." "Clifton Suspension Bridge leaving X," the post was captioned.
Another used the well-known shot of President George W. Bush being informed during a visit to an elementary school that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. It was captioned: "Clifton Suspension Bridge have left Twitter."
Another user posted an image of Elon Musk superimposed over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the caption: "We can probably ride out the Guardian, but losing the Clifton Suspension Bridge, I can't see a way back..."
The latter was a reference to the British daily newspaper, which on Wednesday announced that it would no longer be engaging with its followers on X. In the linked article, the newspaper said that the rise of "disturbing content" had prompted the decision, as had the election of Donald Trump.
"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," the article said.
Following the victory of Trump in the 2024 presidential election, X has seen a growing number of its users leaving the platform over its current owner's emphatic support for the president-elect's campaign, with some joining alternative platforms such as Threads and Bluesky.
Former CNN host Don Lemon announced his departure on Wednesday, urging his followers to switch over to Bluesky and writing: "I once believed [X] was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency, and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose."
Lemon also cited X's new terms of service, coming into effect Friday, which state that any legal disputes with the company will be heard in court in Texas—which a Washington Post article suggested was an effort to shield X and Musk from litigation.
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