More changes are coming to X, as controversial CEO Elon Musk confirmed this week that he plans to remove headlines from news articles shared on the social media platform.
The platform formerly known as Twitter has gone through quite the transformation lately. Between the new name, the view counts, and the blue checkmarks on troll accounts, the social media platform continues to endure radical changes under new management.
Now, Musk looks to make another big modification to X that could have a serious impact on how news is shared on the platform.
Musk Confirms Plans to Ditch Headlines
Where else but X would Elon Musk confirm another huge change to his embattled social media platform. In response to an X New Daily post that outlined the new change, Elon Musk all but confirmed that headlines were on their way out at X.
“This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the esthetics.” – Elon Musk in an X post
The news was originally broken by Fortune, and according to the source, the change is being directly pushed by Musk in hopes of making X look a bit better by reducing the height of posts, while also combating clickbait on the platform.
What Will Happen to Headlines on X?
As of right now, sharing a news article on X creates a “Card,” which shows the lead image of the article, as well as the headline, the link, and the meta description, a short summary of the article that doesn't count against character limit on the platform.
After this change, though, that will no longer be the case. Instead, news articles posted to X would display nothing more than the lead image and the link, doing away with all additional text that comes along with the article.
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Subsequently, if you want to share an article with any context on the X, you'll need to add it yourself, which could be the reason why Musk is making a push to get this change made.
Why Does Musk Want to Get Rid of Headlines?
As noted above, Musk is directly responsible for this change. According to the controversial CEO, getting rid of headlines is in service of a more aesthetically pleasing platform, as well as combating clickbait on the website.
However, given the waning popularity of X and the increasing call for more engagement to attract advertisers, this could very well be a ploy to force users into posting more often. Musk even called on journalists to post news articles directly onto X, likely in hopes of accomplishing the same end.
If you’re a journalist who wants more freedom to write and a higher income, then publish directly on this platform!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 21, 2023
Musk has had a troubled relationship with news organizations, even being accused of throttling links to the New York Times by the Washington Post earlier this week. Whether this plan to get rid of headlines is a shot at news organizations around the world, or just a plan to make X look a bit more readable remains to be seen, but let's be honest, nothing is what it seems when it comes to Musk.
