Musk’s X tops UK news as Grok says it’s ‘likely’ most viewed – while Meta and TikTok falter
Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has become the UK’s most downloaded news app, marking a surprise comeback for a platform many had dismissed as fading.
Despite years of falling ad revenue, user churn, and accusations of toxicity related to its controversial founder and chief executive, the app is likely the most viewed news platform in the UK, too, according to Grok, the chatbot integrated into the platform.
“As of June 2025, X is likely the most viewed news platform in the UK, based on its ranking as a news app on the app store”, the bot wrote on Tuesday. “Data shows 60.6 per cent of X users in the UK use it for news, and 71 per cent of UK adults consume news online, surpassing TV”.
That surge comes despite X’s widely reported struggles. Since Musk’s $44bn acquisition in 2022, the company has shed 30 per cent of its users and watched ad revenues plunge by more than half.
Yet, despite being labelled as “toxic” by The Guardian, X’s grip on mobile news distribution suggests a quiet rise for the once-faltering platform.
Meta and Tiktok misstep
X’s resurgence has arrived just as its rivals stumble. Meta, the long serving social media behemoth, has recently been scrutinised after its AI chatbot app began surfacing users’ private prompts – including medical and legal information – in a public ‘discover’ feed.
“There is clear potential for data protection risks, particularly when it comes to personally identifiable or sensitive data”, said Calli Schroeder, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington DC.
While Meta insists the information was only published with user opt-in, security experts say the interface is confusing and misleading.
“This creates a huge user experience and security problem”, said Rachel Tobac of Social Proof Security. “People don’t expect their confessions or symptoms to be public”.
Still, Meta is shifting gears by bringing ads to Whatsapp for the first time – a reversal of its long-held ‘no ads’ mantra, in a bid to boost revenue.
The company’s announcement drove its stock up on Monday, on hopes of renewed monetisation. Yet, user trust is again under pressure.
Meanwhile, Tiktok has been facing a more existential threat, as it remains mired in a geopolitical showdown across the pond.
With a US ban looming unless Chinese parent Bytedance sells its American operations, the standoff has triggered stalled negotiations and regulatory uncertainty, making the well-loved app a less stable destination for news and cultural discourse worldwide.
As trust frays across these platforms, the once-monolithic architecture of legacy social media is becoming more fragmented, giving space to Elon Musk’s X.
A new digital order?
The rise of X in the UK news rankings points to a deeper re-calibration across social media platforms.
The social media heavyweights that once reigned supreme now faced legal action, regulatory scrutiny, and cultural fatigue.
A 2025 antitrust case against Meta has only intensified those pressures, with its chief Zuckerberg heading to trial in April in a landmark antitrust case that could force him to sell Instagram and WhatsApp – two pillars of its $1.3 trillion (£1 trillion) empire.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that Meta, then Facebook, illegally bought Instagram in 2012, and WhatsApp two years later, to neutralise emerging threats and maintain its market monopoly.
Some analysts have described the shift as a movement toward “technodiversity” – a fragmentation of digital footprint into smaller, more decentralised corners.
“The era of the mega-platform may be over”, one analyst told Digital Insight, “but it’s definitely up for negotiation”.