By Elon Musk is making a significant alteration to how news articles are presented on his social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter. This change has the potential to affect how news outlets attract readers.
Musk announced on Monday that X is planning to streamline the display of news links by removing the headline and accompanying text, leaving only the lead image. Currently, news links appear as “cards” on users’ timelines, featuring an image, the source link, and a condensed headline. This presentation style encourages users to click on the links, benefiting news publishers.
This adjustment could be a strategic move to encourage more users to subscribe to X’s premium service. By simplifying the links, users might be inclined to include additional text within their posts. The premium service allows for posts of up to 25,000 characters.
The impact on advertisers using the platform remains unclear. In July, Musk claimed that X had 540 million monthly users.
Through these changes, Musk is positioning X as a more relevant platform for content creators. Premium subscribers now have the ability to post longer videos, see their posts featured more prominently, and receive a share of ad revenue.
Since taking over ownership of Twitter in October 2022, Musk has introduced several abrupt alterations, many of which have negatively affected the news media, a significant part of the platform’s user base. Musk has suspended journalists, revoked verification from numerous media figures, and attempted to launch his own journalism initiative called the Twitter Files, where reporters publish “investigations” directly on the platform.
Musk, speaking directly on X, stated, “This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the aesthetics.”
Additionally, the change is intended to reduce the vertical space occupied by posts, potentially allowing more content to be visible on the screen. Musk also reportedly believes this change will help counteract clickbait on X.
