Horizon Europe Projects and X (formerly Twitter)

There are a host of valid reasons as to why consortia and institutions are reconsidering their presence on and continued use of X as a platform. For one, meaningful engagement has declined significantly for many scientific and policy-focused accounts. The revised algorithm increasingly favours content that is sensational or polarising over discussions that are evidence-based. With the positing of new risks, such as deepfakes, misinformation generated by AI tools, and the unpredictable nature of the platform’s governance and safety protocols, the environment on X has become potently less amenable to the transparent, trustworthy communication that EU-funded research has depended on for years.

From the perspective of the Horizon Europe funding programme and its many projects, these are critical issues to consider before a decision is made. Projects funded by the EU using taxpayer money are expected to uphold values of scientific integrity, and to ensure that transparency and public trust are at the forefront of the research being carried out. When a communication channel fundamentally undermines these principles, it can quickly become a liability rather than an asset for Horizon Europe projects.

However, leaving X is not as simple as deleting an account and can come with unforeseen risks. Consider as an example a project that has simply deleted their X account. A stakeholder, unaware of the change, may continue to send direct messages containing their personal, and sometimes sensitive, information to an account that no longer represents the project and has instead had its old user handle taken over by someone with no association to the project. In this instance, while the project account holder has acted in a manner than they consider responsible, a malicious actor could just as easily have abused the situation by taking advantage of the stakeholder’s lack of awareness.

For Horizon Europe projects, many of which handle issues pertaining stakeholder data, policy dialogue, and sometimes vulnerable communities, this can represent a serious governance and GDPR issue.

Therefore, the real question is not “Should our project quit X?” but rather “How should we exit, if we choose to?”

If implemented, a responsible exit strategy should first consider that social media accounts are part of a project’s digital infrastructure, just like its website or data portal. If it is determined that X no longer delivers value to the project and its digital presence, the safest option may be to keep the account but mark it clearly as inactive. A pinned post can explain that updates have moved elsewhere (such as LinkedIn, Bluesky, Mastodon, or the project website), while the handle itself remains secured.

A thorough audit should also be carried out by the project’s communication and dissemination team to determine where their X handle appears, such as on websites, CORDIS pages, flyers, presentations, and partner sites. While they may seem innocuous, outdated links have the potential to undermine the project’s credibility by funnelling users into unsafe spaces where their data may be at risk.

More broadly, Horizon Europe projects should think of social media as a channel to build trust and engagement and not as a popularity contest. While some may be apprehensive about quitting X, especially when they see that other projects are still active on the platform, the goal should not be maximum reach, but rather providing access to information that is accurate for partners, policymakers, and citizens. In some cases, X may no longer serve that purpose, but abandoning it without a comprehensive and viable exit strategy can create more risk than staying.

In an era of digital communication that is becoming increasingly dominated by fragmentation and misinformation, the careful stewardship of an organisation or project’s online presence is a crucial aspect of responsible research and innovation. Whether projects stay on X or not, they owe it to the public that funds them to manage their digital footprint with the same care they apply to their science.