Another change Elon Musk made to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is sure to enrage people: for stories shared on X, the website and its applications no longer show the headline. Musk stated that the modification would be implemented back in August: “This is coming from me personally. radically enhances the aesthetics.
The modification will change how media businesses and publishers distribute material to X because, without the headline appearing below the image, a post will lack context unless the headline is contained in the post’s text or is on the image that is distributed along with the story. By clicking on the featured image, articles shared with X still have a link to the source website. Some X users stated that as of Wednesday, they were still able to read the headlines of stories in their timeline.
Elon Musk has, on the other hand, frequently shown hostility toward media organizations and supported “citizen journalists” who submit text, audio, and video directly to the platform. “Citizen journalism breaks the monopoly held by a small number of editors — they naturally don’t like that,” he tweeted in May.
The New York Times’ verified check mark was removed by Musk but later reinstated after the newspaper refused to pay for the designation. Because Elon Musk claimed they had “doxxed” him by providing links to an account that followed his private jet, he banned (then unbanned) journalists whose accounts had been suspended for that reason.
Additionally, he ordered Twitter’s PR division disbanded and the media contact email account configured to automatically reply with a feces emoji. On Wednesday, X’s PR mailbox received a request for information through email; in response, an author stated, “Busy now, please check back later.”
Other modifications made by Elon Musk since he took over Twitter in October 2022 include: He changed the verified check-mark program to allow any paying subscriber to get one (and removed the blue check-marks from celebrity accounts, before restoring many of them just days later). He also oversaw mass layoffs that resulted in the elimination of 80% of the company’s workforce.
Along with that, Elon Musk recently stated that X is “moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system” of “a few dollars or something” since “it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.”
As CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, in addition to handling other projects, Musk has stated that he will continue to manage the product and technology teams at X/Twitter. To oversee corporate operations, he appointed Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal sales manager, as CEO.
