<p>What happens to digital diplomacy after Twitter? Elon Musk’s purchase and controversial transformation of Twitter raises questions about the platform’s future for digital diplomacy. This article argues Twitter’s recent transformation represents a source of aesthetic insecurity for states, and especially liberal democratic states. Drawing on theories of facework and aesthetic insecurity, the argument understands digital diplomacy as about the projection and affirmation of a state’s positive public image or ‘face’. Yet many of the changes to the platform threaten to undermine this face. From the weakening of the platform’s verification regime in ways that heighten risks of impersonation and disinformation, to being forced to share digital ‘space’ with face-threatening hate speech, to the platform’s embrace of a reactionary politics aimed at undermining the face of liberal democracies, these changes represent new sources of aesthetic insecurity which challenge the everyday facework of digital diplomacy. In making this argument the article makes three contributions: it demonstrates the value of theories of facework and aesthetic insecurity in thinking about conflict in digital diplomacy; it pushes scholars to interrogate the politics of social media companies; and it calls for a reconsideration of the concept of ‘space’ on digital platforms.</p>