News outlets have another reason to dislike X. Headlines on news stories shared on the platform formerly known as Twitter are disappearing as part of owner Elon Musk’s push to keep users from visiting external sites. Previously, when a link to a news article was shared, the lead image was automatically generated along with the headline. Now, only the photo and web domain appear. A review by the Washington Post found the change “also appeared to affect shared links to non-news websites,” though not paid advertisements. In highlighting an example post, Chris Harihar, a partner at PR agency Crenshaw Communications, noted “a normal person … would not even know [someone had] shared an article.”
Months ago, Elon Musk revealed that he directed the move that would “greatly improve the aesthetics.” However, in a recent tweet, Musk stated that “our algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, so links don’t get as much attention, because there is less time spent if people click away.” He also agreed with a post claiming that “the new mainstream media will be X.” The change in Twitter/X’s headlines is seen by Cardiff University journalism professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen as “part of a larger trend toward making Twitter/X more difficult for news organizations to use,” according to the Washington Post. Wahl-Jorgensen added that users now lack the necessary context to understand the content of the shared links, resulting in reduced click-through rates. However, she also mentioned that this change could potentially harm Twitter/X by decreasing the amount of relevant and engaging content on the platform.
While advertisers seem unaffected, they are facing another issue highlighted by the Wall Street Journal: the increasing use of “Community Notes” by Twitter/X. This feature allows users to provide additional context to paid and unpaid posts, challenging the narrative. Advertisers are now cautious about spending on Twitter/X ads due to this feature. As reported by the Journal, Uber deleted an ad stating that its drivers “earn like a boss” after a note, approved by a group of volunteer users, revealed that the average Uber driver earns less than $12 per hour. Musk previously claimed that the site lost millions of dollars in revenue following notes targeting two advertisers. With the upcoming 2024 election cycle, political ads on Twitter/X will likely face even greater scrutiny, as mentioned in the Journal. (The platform has also disabled another feature used to report election misinformation.)
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