Musk removes headlines from news posts on X for ‘aesthetic’ reasons

WEB DESK: Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has made a significant change by removing headlines from news articles shared by users, a move that is likely to further strain relations with media groups.

Musk, who has a history of criticising traditional media outlets, has rebranded Twitter as X and positioned it as a superior source of information.

However, the latest alteration involves displaying news and other links solely as images without any accompanying text, a decision he attributed to “aesthetic” reasons.

Musk’s takeover of Twitter and its transformation into X involved a $44 billion deal. Since then, he has made controversial decisions such as layoffs, allowing banned conspiracy theorists and extremists back on the platform, and reinstating or banning journalists from mainstream outlets like the Washington Post and CNN.

Musk’s recent move to eliminate textual information from shared links has drawn criticism and led some media groups to cease their postings on X. Additionally, French news outlets, including AFP, have taken legal action against X, accusing the platform of copyright breaches.

The changes to the presentation of links on X were first proposed in August and gradually implemented this week. Instead of seeing a headline alongside a picture, users now encounter only an image with a small watermark.

This alteration has sparked criticism, with some users expressing difficulty distinguishing between news and other types of information. This ambiguity raises concerns about the site’s credibility.

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In September, the European Commission reported that X had a higher ratio of misinformation and disinformation compared to other social media platforms.

This trend of deteriorating relations between media organisations and tech companies is not unique to X, as both Google and Meta have resisted laws requiring them to pay media companies for displaying news stories.

The consequences of these changes are evident in the real world, with media website referrals from X and Meta’s Facebook plummeting over the past three years, as reported by the Axios news site on Tuesday.