Swim Ireland become latest national sports governing body to discontinue use of X platform

Move comes amid concerns over images generated by Grok AI

Swim Ireland will no longer use the X platform as part of their Social Media output. Photograph: Lorraine O'Sullivan/Inpho
Swim Ireland will no longer use the X platform as part of their Social Media output. Photograph: Lorraine O'Sullivan/Inpho

Swim Ireland have become the latest national sports governing body to discontinue its use of the social media platform X due to a “lack of adequate controls and the current implementation of Grok AI”.

It follows Paralympics Ireland taking the step to discontinue posting last week.

Last week Sport Ireland said it was reviewing its use of X after reports the Grok had been generating illegal images at the request of users.

In a statement issued on Monday evening, Swim Ireland announced their decision to discontinue the use of their X account, the platform formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk.

“This step reflects our commitment to maintaining integrity and safeguarding our organisation and members against risks associated with the platform’s ethos, lack of adequate controls and the current implementation of Grok AI. The platform no longer aligns with our values or our approach to transparent, responsible communication.

“We remain open to reviewing our use of X in the future should the platform evolve in ways that better align with our standards and communication goals.

“We invite you to stay connected with us through our official channels, including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn where we will continue to share updates, resources, and engage with our community.”

Their X account will remain online as an archive.

In the UK, Sport England indefinitely suspended its engagement with X last week, after what it described as the “abhorrent outputs” associated with Grok.

The last post by Sport England on X on January 8th said: “At Sport England, our mission is to ensure sport and physical activity are safe and inclusive for everyone. To stay true to these values, we are suspending indefinitely our X channel and will be moving our community engagement to other platforms. You can join us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and BlueSky.”

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Ian O'Riordan

Ian O'Riordan

Ian O'Riordan is an Irish Times sports journalist writing on athletics