October 5th, 2023, Christien Pheby
July 2023 saw Elon Musk begin the process of rebranding Twitter to X. It was unpopular at the time, and a few months on, new YouGov polling can reveal that a majority of Britons and Twitter users still favour the social media platform’s original name, and would change it back.
According to new YouGov data, three-quarters of Britons say the name Twitter is preferable to X (77%); this rises to 88% of all the platform’s users, and 91% of people who use the platform at least once per day.
A similar proportion of the public would see X revert back to the Twitter branding (74%), as would 81% of the platform’s user-base and 83% of daily users.
Nine in ten users would not pay to use X/Twitter, think a subscription fee will make it less successful
We also asked users about the amounts of money they would be willing to pay to use X/Twitter, following Musk’s recent announcement that the platform would be introducing a “small monthly payment” in a conversation with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some 91% of the site’s users said they would not pay anything to post on the site; while 5% said they would pay £2.00 or less and just 2% said they would be willing to pay anything more. Among daily users, 89% would pay nothing to post, 7% would pay £2.00 or less, and just 4% would pay more than £2.00.
When it comes to viewing posts, 91% of all X/Twitter users would not pay for the privilege, with 5% being willing to pay £2.00 or less and just 2% willing to pay anything more. Among daily users, 88% wouldn’t fork over any amount to view posts, while 7% would pay £2 or less and 4% would pay a fee over £2.00.
Beyond their own pockets, X/Twitter users aren’t confident that introducing subscriptions will improve the brand’s fortunes. When asked, 79% of all users say a monthly fee would make it less successful, with just 6% saying the reverse; for daily users, 80% believe it would worsen its prospects with only 8% thinking the opposite.
Musk’s tenure has been broadly unpopular with X/Twitter users. Over half say it has gotten worse since he acquired the company in October 2022 (54%), with just 11% saying it has gotten better. Among Britons who use the platform at least once a day, 61% believe it has worsened, and 18% think it has improved.
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Methodology
YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 27-28 September 2023, with a nationally representative sample of 2081 adults (aged 18+ years) in Great Britain, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education, and social grade to be representative of all adults in Great Britain (18 years or older), and reflect the latest ONS population estimates. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.