Conservative commentator quits Twitter in disgust

Chris Kenny has abandoned the Twittersphere for good, in a development likely to start a wider conversation among some media types about whether the social media platform is worth it.

In 2014, the Sky News host and The Australian columnist tried, and failed, to quit the “Twitsphere”, as he dubbed it back then, after publishing a column in which he lamented the treatment of women on the social media platform. But within weeks, he was sucked back into the Twitter vortex.

This time around, Kenny’s ­resolve is stronger. His Twitter handle with 40,000 followers suddenly disappeared a month ago, and Kenny tells Diary there’s no going back: “The reason I’m quitting Twitter is that there’s so much toxicity, so much vulgarity and so many lies, you can’t engage without incurring some damage: whether that be frustration, anger, or just resentment at misrepresentations. When you look at it, there’s not many people right of centre who go on Twitter and ­engage. The point was always to engage. But in the end, that ­became impossible.”

“I encourage as many people as possible to get out of it,” he says. “What should be a communal conversation is often just a horrible festering cesspit of hatred, lies and misinformation.”

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