Social media platform X removes headlines from links in site restyle
Technology
Users need to click on the image if they want to visit the page
(Web Desk) - Social media platform X has officially removed headlines from links in the latest restyle of its site.
The platform is now showing only the article’s main image and text noting the domain of the link.
Users need to click on the image if they want to visit the page.
The move comes weeks after X’s owner, Elon Musk, announced his intention to make the platform “look better.”
“This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the aesthetics,” Musk said in a post.
Musk has also been critical of news organizations, tweeting this week that he “almost never reads legacy news anymore,” and that the X algorithm is optimized against links to ensure people stay on the site as long as possible.
The change was made on Wednesday for iOS and desktop users, but the restyle did not appear to apply to advertisement links.
News organizations have expressed skepticism about the change, saying that it will negatively affect engagement rates.
They also argue that the move is part of a broader trend of Musk’s hostility toward news organizations.
Since Musk took over Twitter, now X, in a $44 billion deal last year, several media outlets have withdrawn from the platform, accusing the company of censorship.
In August, X briefly appeared to put a five-second delay on loading links to news sites and rivals to X, including Reuters, The New York Times, Instagram and Blue Sky.
In April, as the platform began to roll out a new subscription tier, Musk attacked several outlets, including The New York Times and BBC, stripping them of their blue tick.
