In a significant move, the national sports funding body Sport England has suspended its official account on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The organisation cited the platform's promotion of a climate it describes as 'hostile to women and girls' as the primary reason for its departure.
Chair condemns platform's direction and AI tool
Chris Boardman, the chair of Sport England, detailed the decision in a public blog post. He stated that X 'increasingly promotes and monetises' an unsafe environment, which directly contradicts the values of an organisation that invests £250 million annually into grassroots and community sport.
Boardman specifically criticised X's AI platform tool, Grok, accusing it of having 'contributed to the amplification of and worse, normalisation of, misogynistic content'. He linked the decision to last summer's horrific online abuse targeted at members of the England women's football squad, the Lionesses.
A broader critique of Elon Musk's leadership
The criticism extended beyond specific features to the platform's overall direction under owner Elon Musk. Boardman argued that the tone on X has deteriorated in recent years, becoming 'increasingly divisive and reductive'.
'X has become a less effective way for us to do our job,' he stated. While acknowledging that some believe in staying to challenge harmful narratives from within, Boardman asserted that for Sport England, 'stepping away from X is the right decision'. He called on tech companies, particularly X, to take greater responsibility for the environments they foster.
Regulatory scrutiny and national context
The move from Sport England coincides with increased regulatory attention on X. This week, the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, launched an investigation into the platform over concerns that Grok is being used to create sexualised images.
Furthermore, the government has confirmed it will bring into force a new law making the creation of such non-consensual deepfake imagery illegal. Sport England's action places it at the forefront of a growing national conversation about safety and accountability on social media platforms.
Boardman concluded by reaffirming the organisation's core mission: 'Sport should always be a place where everyone feels safe and welcome. Those are values worth standing up for. When a space undermines that, walking away is not weakness – it is a responsibility.'
