Conflict with Media Outlets
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has removed headlines from news articles shared by users, further straining relations with media groups. The billionaire entrepreneur has consistently criticized the “legacy media” and claimed that X, formerly known as Twitter, offers a superior source of information.
However, Musk stated that the latest change was primarily for “aesthetic” reasons. News and other links on the platform now appear solely as images with no accompanying text.
Musk acquired Twitter last year in a $44 billion deal, leading to the platform’s renaming as X. Since then, he has implemented significant changes, including the termination of thousands of employees, which drew criticism for allowing banned conspiracy theorists and extremists back on the platform, leading advertisers to withdraw their support.
Musk has also alternately banned and reinstated various journalists from mainstream outlets such as the Washington Post and CNN. Consequently, some media groups have stopped posting on X altogether.
In early August, AFP and other French news outlets filed a legal case against X, accusing it of copyright infringements. Musk’s recent statement on Tuesday reflects his decreasing reliance on traditional news sources: “I almost never read legacy news anymore.
What’s the point of reading 1,000 words about something that has already posted on X several days ago?”
When the proposed changes to links were initially discussed in August, Musk remarked, “This is coming directly from me. It will significantly enhance the aesthetics.”
Some users have expressed concerns that it has become challenging to distinguish between news and other types of information on the platform. This is likely to raise questions about the site’s credibility. Overall, Elon Musk’s social media platform X removes news headlines, escalating conflict with media outlets over the platform’s changes.
