No, the UK Government’s X account hasn’t been suspended

20 May 2026

Posts on social media are again falsely claiming that the UK’s Government’s official X account has been suspended by the platform’s owner, Elon Musk.

The Facebook posts include a screenshot of a suspended X account with the handle “@ukgov”. One caption claims the account was “shut down” after the UK Government left comments “threatening arrests for posts”.

This is not true. The official UK Government’s X account has the handle “@GOVUK” and has not been suspended.

One of the pages told us its post was a parody.

We saw similar false claims being shared in 2024. It’s important to consider whether what you see is accurate before sharing it online. Our toolkit can help you do this.

Related topics

Social media Quick checks

Evidence you can rely on

Fact checking claims made by politicians, public figures and viral online content can give you the full picture backed by the evidence.

Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.