Conservative group leader Cllr Chris Steward said the decision to stop posting on the social media platform was taken because Labour councillors do not like X’s owner Elon Musk.
But the council’s Labour leader Cllr Claire Douglas said she made no apologies for taking the decision and the question of whether to stay on or leave X was inherently political.
It comes after Cllr Douglas approved the proposal to stop posting on the @CityofYork account, which has around 49,000 followers, except in emergencies on Wednesday, April 23.
A council report stated it followed a growth in misinformation and harmful content and after engagement with its content had sharply declined.
Chris Steward (photo: Nether Poppleton and Upper Poppleton parish councils website)
The report added changes to the platform formerly known as Twitter since it was bought by Mr Musk in 2022 including replacing fact-checking with community notes made using it challenging.
It also stated it had consulted with organisations including the Local Government Association (LGA) before taking the decision and residents had criticised the council’s presence on X.
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But disability rights activist Flick Williams told the decision meeting on Wednesday ending the use of X would make it harder for people to engage with the council online.
Conservative Cllr Steward said there were inaccuracies on all social media platforms, while the cost of using X for council communications was negligible.
He added it would see the council move away from a platform that has thousands of users across York after carrying out little consultation beforehand.
The Conservative group leader said: “As with many Labour group decisions, the decision to stop using X is in no way driven by the needs of York residents, it is being done simply because X is owned by Elon Musk and Labour councillors do not like him.
“Opinion may be divided on the owner of X, like most people, but it is absurd to not use a hugely popular platform which is the most accessible platform of all and is used by many thousands of residents.”
But Labour Leader Cllr Douglas said staying on X that could also have been interpreted as a political decision in favour of the right.
The council leader added people would still be able to engage with the council in a variety of other ways.
Cllr Douglas said: “Our residents hold differing views on the merits or otherwise of the council being on X, remaining on it or moving away from it are both political decisions.
“Councils are politically led organisations and I make no apology for the decisions we take reflecting our principles of respect, decency and factual open debate.
“As X moves away from these values, it was a very straightforward decision to take.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has been unable to reach X for comment about the council’s decision.
