RCS England will no longer post on X

As your College, we use a range of communication channels to reach you and wider audiences. We regularly review whether those platforms remain effective and appropriate places for our surgical community to communicate.

We have been closely reviewing changes on the X platform. We have seen a significant increase in abusive content, the amplification of misinformation, scams and automated bot activity, alongside a marked decline in member engagement compared with our other social media channels. For some time, we have already been encouraging followers on X to connect with our other social media accounts.

As your College, we have been active in tackling sexual misconduct in the surgical workforce and encouraging bystanders to challenge unacceptable behaviour. We cannot, therefore, ignore the latest development on X that allows users to generate and distribute sexualised content of other people, including our own members. At the time of writing and despite global pressure, X has not restricted the ability of its AI bot Grok to do this – unlike other mainstream AI providers.

We have therefore taken the decision to stop posting on X.

We will continue to share updates and engage with members on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky and Threads, and through our member enewsletters. These communication channels continue to grow, with LinkedIn our most popular channel, and we do not believe this change will reduce our ability to communicate with or listen to members. We will keep our approach to X, and other social media channels, under review.

We encourage members and audiences to follow us on those channels to stay connected.