Stripping headlines from news links could mark Musk's latest revamp to platform X

Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is set to undergo a significant alteration in the way news links are presented, marking another major shift led by its owner, Elon Musk, that could impact news publishers on the site.

The news initially surfaced via a report by Fortune on Monday (August 21), and it was subsequently confirmed by Elon Musk himself in a post later that day. Musk stated, "This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the aesthetics [sic]." Under this new approach, the platform will no longer display headlines and accompanying text from news links, showing only the primary image. This adjustment limits a user's ability to preview the content before clicking.

Presently, news links are presented on users' timelines as "cards," featuring an image, source address, and a condensed headline. This format has been effective in attracting clicks and helping publishers engage readers.

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Encouraging premium service adoption

This alteration could be an effort to encourage more users to sign up for X's premium service. By truncating the links, users might be more inclined to include additional text with their posts. The premium service permits a single post to have up to 25,000 characters.

Example via @yashar of what the new design could look like.

Left: Current
Right: New design (projected) pic.twitter.com/tnA69PP2Mj — X News Daily (@xDaily) August 22, 2023

The full implications for advertisers on the platform are yet to be clear. In July, Musk claimed that X had 540 million monthly users. These changes aim to position X as a more relevant platform for content creators. Premium subscribers can now share longer videos, have their posts prioritised in users' feeds, and receive a portion of ad revenue.

Also watch |'X ‘may fail’ after...': Elon Musk's big reveal about the social media platform

Elon Musk has been implementing a series of abrupt changes to Twitter since taking ownership in October 2022, some of which have had a negative impact on the news media, a substantial portion of the platform's user base. Musk has suspended journalists from the platform, removed verification from numerous media figures, and ventured into launching his journalistic projectsthrough a project known as the Twitter Files, where reporters published "investigations" directly on the platform.

Musk's pitch to journalists

In a recent post, Musk invited journalists to embrace greater freedom and potentially higher earnings by publishing directly on the platform: "If you're a journalist who wants more freedom to write and a higher income, then publish directly on this platform!" Following his takeover, Musk largely dismantled Twitter's public relations department and ceased responding to media inquiries. Inquiries that were once met with comments were now replied to with a poop emoji. When contacted for comment about these recent changes, X responded with an automated reply.

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