Ask any Malaysian Social Media Manager about X (formerly Twitter), and they will likely roll their eyes. “It’s too toxic,” they say. “It’s full of trolls. We stopped posting there in 2024.”
They aren’t wrong. X can be a hostile environment for brands.
But deciding not to post on X is very different from deciding not to listen to X.
Ignoring X because it’s “toxic” is like ignoring a fire alarm because it’s “loud.” You might enjoy the silence, but you will burn down the house.
Here is why X remains the most critical “Smoke Detector” for Malaysian businesses in 2026.
1. The “Speed of Anger”
On Facebook, a customer complaint might sit for 2 days before gaining traction. On Instagram, it gets buried in DMs.
On X, anger travels at the speed of light. A single viral tweet about “bad service” or “hidden charges” can reach 500,000 views in 4 hours. By the time your PR team wakes up the next morning, the hashtag is already trending, and news portals like Says or World of Buzz are writing articles about it.
You cannot afford to wait 24 hours. You need to know in 24 minutes.
2. The “Screenshot” Economy
“But our target audience isn’t on X!”
This is a dangerous myth. Even if your customers aren’t active on X, the content doesn’t stay there. X is the Content Factory for the rest of the internet. A funny or angry tweet gets screenshot and reposted to:
- Instagram Stories
- TikTok “Green Screen” videos
- Facebook Groups
The crisis starts on X, but it kills your reputation on TikTok. Monitoring X allows you to kill the spark before it jumps platforms.
3. Separating “Noise” from “Signal”
The reason brands hate X is the noise. Trolls, bots, and K-pop fancams make it hard to see what matters.
This is where Smart Listening comes in. You don’t need to read every tweet. You need to set up “Threshold Alerts.”
- Don’t Alert Me: If 5 people complain about “slow WiFi.” (That’s business as usual).
- ALERT ME IMMEDIATELY: If 50 people use the words “Scam,” “Racist,” or “Boycott” within 1 hour.
Conclusion: It’s Your Smoke Detector
You don’t need to be “witty” on X. You don’t need to join the memes. You don’t even need to post.
But you absolutely must have a listening ear on the ground. In the volatile Malaysian market, X is the only platform that gives you the “First Mover Advantage” on a crisis. If you wait until it hits Facebook, it’s already too late.
A crisis on X travels faster than your PR team. While you ignore the “toxic” platform, a single viral tweet can screenshot its way onto TikTok and Instagram news feeds. Mediapod acts as your 24/7 smoke detector—alerting you to “Cancel Culture” keywords instantly so you can put out the fire before it spreads. Request Your Free Crisis Audit!