Time to get off X, prime minister. It’s repulsive
Now would be a great time for the federal government and the opposition to review their use of the platform they condemn.
Time to get off X, prime minister. It’s repulsive
Opinion
January 12, 2026 — 11.47am
January 12, 2026 — 11.47am
On this one topic Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley can agree: Elon Musk’s social media platform is abhorrent. So why do they continue to use it?
On Saturday they joined the international outcry over the repulsive chatbot Grok that Musk has just unleashed on X, which some posters have used to generate sexually explicit images of public figures, people they hate or even children.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.Credit: AP
Sure, X has now made its latest trolling toy exclusive for paid subscribers, in a token gesture of accountability, and Musk says those who upload the images will be prosecuted – I guess by government agencies that can find the posters. Musk says the tool can’t be blamed for how people use it.
But let’s face it, the space formerly known as Twitter is now a cesspit where people let loose with tribal aggression, porn slop and hate speech.
Nevertheless, the same day Albanese was telling reporters that X “once again, is an example of social media not showing social responsibility”, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong was using her account to condemn Iran’s violent crackdown on protests.
Loading
On January 4, X was the only platform Albanese’s office used to publish a statement calling for a “peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people”.
Ley was most recently on X on Thursday, attacking the PM for his drawn-out resistance to a royal commission, and she’s regularly posted there, condemning those who preach hatred.
Yes, I am still on the site and so are the mastheads I work for and many of my colleagues, dutifully posting news links that Musk’s algorithms chew up and spit out alongside deepfakes and videos you really, really wish you had not seen.
The minute the politicians we cover leave the site, I’m gone. Every week I have to wade into that bilge to fish out updates I’d rather get anywhere else: WhatsApp, Instagram, good old-fashioned emails.
Loading