Over 50% environmentalists have left X post Elon Musk's takeover, except Greta Thunberg

Around 52.5 per cent of environmentalists active on X have left the platform in the six months following Elon Musk's acquisition, according to recent research. However, Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg is still active on the microblogging platform. 

Earlier this month, Thunberg pulled out of her expected participation in the Edinburgh Book Festival upon learning that the event's sponsor had invested substantial amounts of money in the fossil fuel sector. She had been scheduled to give a speech at the 3,000-seat Playhouse theatre on August 13.

Will the exodus spark climate change talks? 

This exodus has raised concerns about potential consequences for public discourse related to critical issues like biodiversity, climate change, and disaster recovery.

A research team composed of biologists and environmental consultants based in the US conducted a study on a group of approximately 3.8 lakh users with environmentally oriented interests who engaged in discussions concerning climate change, biodiversity, and other pro-environmental topics on Twitter.

The findings revealed that merely half of these environmentally engaged users remained active on the platform during the six-month period following Musk's takeover. The criteria for "active" users required posting on the platform at least once within a 15-day interval.

X's role in environmental discussions 

Prior to Musk's acquisition in October 2022, Twitter served as a primary platform for environmental discussions and advocacy, offering a space for diverse environmental interests to exchange ideas, collaborate on goals, and share research.

The rate of departure among environmentally oriented users on Twitter was significantly higher than similar trends observed in other online communities discussing different subjects, including general politics. The research, published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, emphasised that there is currently no equivalent platform to Twitter for such discourse.

The study's authors raised concerns about the impact of this decline in engagement, questioning where environmental conservation discussions would now take place and how pro-environmental segments of the public could be mobilised without a robust platform.

To address these issues, the authors urged researchers to actively participate in shaping the future of environmental communication. This could involve advocating for changes within Twitter to make it more conducive for environmentalists or collectively transitioning to alternative platforms like Mastodon or Threads.

The authors emphasised the need for collaborative efforts across various sectors, including industry, non-profits, and academia, to monitor public engagement with environmental topics across different social media platforms. Such collaborations would serve the interests of primary research, practical environmental conservation efforts, and climate change mitigation.

(With PTI inputs)