A new survey shows Australian scientists are leaving Elon Musk’s social media platform. 

A survey of more than 100 scientists conducted by Cosmos and the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) sought to learn how scientists in Australia and New Zealand were using social media a year after Elon Musk shifted the digital landscape through his US$40bn purchase of Twitter (now called X).

It shows scientists are facing a dilemma about the best way to connect with the wider public.

More than 100 scientists participated in the survey. While preliminary, it found most who used X had either reduced or ended their participation on that platform.

Although X has typically been seen as the platform of choice to share material online, all scientists surveyed who use social media said they professionally maintain a LinkedIn account. 

About 45 per cent of those who use the career-focused social media platform do so at least once a week. This compares to 70 per cent of scientists surveyed who use X for professional purposes, and of those just 40 per cent use it at least once a week.

The survey found most scientists operate social media to connect with peers and colleagues, and to engage with the public.

About 75 per cent of those with an X account said they had reduced their usage or stopped using the platform entirely in the past year, while more than 25 per cent had increased their use of LinkedIn.

Around 62 per cent said they had been subject to good-faith criticism on social media, while 35 per cent had been subject to abuse.

Around 80 said they had witnessed fake news, misinformation or disinformation related to their area of expertise in the past year, mainly on X and Facebook, but also YouTube.

The full report is accessible here.