In the past few months, some Democratic state legislators have joined the reported exodus of users on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. These include Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor of Inglewood, Marc Berman of Palo Alto and Akilah Weber Pierson of San Diego.

The most recent is Sen. Scott Wiener, who on Wednesday said he was shifting away from the platform due to “escalating negative changes” at X. The San Francisco lawmaker has been a user since 2009, but cited “extremist content, unending junk/spam posts, and bizarre changes to the algorithm,” for his reasons for leaving.

Wiener, in a statement: “I enjoyed using it for so many years — but at this point, it’s a garbage fire.”

McKinnor told me the platform “got very mean” and is distracting. “At 60 years old, I’ve never been targeted by people in my life like that,” she said. “It’s not healthy and it doesn’t make you feel safe.”

Musk Took Over Website in 2022

The website has been owned since 2022 by Elon Musk, the tech mogul and current head of the White House’s new Department of Government Efficiency under the President Donald Trump administration.

Since his takeover, the company gutted thousands of jobs, including deep cuts to its moderation, trust and safety and accessibility teams; reversed the ban of several divisive public figures; and leaned in on Community Notes, as a user-driven, fact-checking feature. (Though Musk has recently expressed doubts about it.)

Rampant misinformation and disinformation spreading on the site, as well as higher instances of hate speech, have also been reported.

GOP Assemblymember Stands With X

Musk has said he wanted to buy X to protect free speech. For Assemblymember Joe Patterson, a Rocklin Republican and regular X user, he told me the site remains useful to communicate with constituents about public policy, and to stay in touch with reporters, agencies and colleagues within the Capitol community.

Patterson told CalMatters: “Legislators need to be where the people are at. … When you put yourself out there and do things people disagree with, people get nasty on all platforms. It’s not unique to X.”

About the Author

Lynn La is the newsletter writer for CalMatters, focusing on California’s top political, policy and Capitol stories every weekday. She produces and curates WhatMatters, CalMatters’ flagship daily newsletter with more than 150,000 subscribers.

About CalMatters

CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California policy and politics.