X Marks a Tough Spot for State and Local Government

<p>Significant changes at X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, are forcing public agencies to adapt, revert to communications channels they control, or contemplate leaving it all together. The changes have caused public agencies to rethink what they need to do to effectively disseminate emergency and critical information while safeguarding their own credibility as even the validation seal program on the platform gets turned on its head.</p> <h3 id="enhancement-0ae07aa4-67b1-11ee-8e3d-7d981de0ebec" class= "rte2-style-brightspot-core-rte-heading-HeadingH3RichTextElement"> SHOW NOTES</h3> <p>Here are the top 10 takeaways from this episode:</p> <ol> <li><strong class="rte2-style-bold">Overview:</strong> The episode discusses significant changes on Twitter (rebranded as “X”) affecting public agencies.</li> <li><strong class="rte2-style-bold">Unexpected Alterations:</strong> X temporarily removed public post viewing without an account, impacting dissemination of emergency information in a crisis.</li> <li><strong class="rte2-style-bold">Community Engagement:</strong> Agencies, like the Washington and Arizona departments of transportation, used Twitter for over a decade for effective community connection.</li> <li><strong class="rte2-style-bold">Increased Negative Feedback:</strong> Rising negativity on X is causing state and local government users to consider leaving the platform.</li> <li><strong class="rte2-style-bold">Verification Process Concerns:</strong> Modifications to the verification process, including the paid feature, X Premium, has caused confusion and concerns about credibility among government agencies.</li> <li><strong class="rte2-style-bold">Preferred Verification:</strong> Government entities prefer the gray checkmark, denoting verified status, to enhance credibility.</li> <li><strong class="rte2-style-bold">Anticipated Future Changes:</strong> Additional changes on X include the potential <a id="enhancement-0ae07aa5-67b1-11ee-8e3d-7d981de0ebec" class= "rte2-style-brightspot-core-li