District of North Vancouver deletes X account

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the District of North Vancouver deleted its account on the popular social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

Officials shared that their decision is due to the website no longer aligning with its corporate values.

Moving forward, residents can still see updates on the district’s other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc, or by going directly to the municipality’s website.

The post on X notifying its followers of the decision to delete the account drew some mixed reactions from residents, some agreeing with the decision to move away from X — owned by Elon Musk — while others questioned the impact it will have on civic engagement.

In a statement, the DNV explained that it has received complaints about the content on the social media site, and the municipality’s use of the platform.

“As a result, we have decided to step away from it,” the DNV stated. “There continues to be lots of opportunities for us to communicate with our community in ways that align with our values.”

Meanwhile, in statements to The Leader Spirit, other municipalities in Metro Vancouver are looking to make a similar move.

“With an audience of over 269,000 on X, we are currently exploring the operational impacts of deactivating the City of Vancouver’s X account and how this may affect communicating with users across the city,” the City of Vancouver shared. “At this time, we are looking into alternative platforms and other jurisdictional responses to inform the best path forward for our organization and communication needs.”

The City of New Westminster says it is also considering deleting or deactivating its X account, while Surrey officials say it’s not something that is currently under consideration.

As far as the timing of the decision, the District of North Vancouver says the recent policy changes regarding X were initiated in mid-November of last year.