Elon Musk’s X gets rid of story headlines and links in some users’ feeds

Elon Musk's X gets rid of story headlines and links in some users' feeds

X (formerly Twitter) CEO Elon Musk leaves a US Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 13, 2023.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

On Elon Musk’s X, the site formerly known as Twitter, some users reported on Wednesday that they were unable to see news links and headlines on certain posts, a change in the way that media stories appear in their feed.

Several X users noted that posts only displayed graphics of individual news articles, making it confusing to understand.

Earlier this month, Musk confirmed a Fortune report that the company was considering the change, pitching it as a way to “greatly improve the esthetics.” An X spokesperson told CNBC that he’s looking into whether the removal of headlines and links represents a broad rollout.

Linda Yaccarino, who Musk hired as CEO of X in June, reiterated during a conversation with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin at the Code Conference last week that Musk oversees the company’s product and feature development while she handles business and operational matters.

Yaccarino has been busy attempting to win back advertisers on the platform, while Musk is promising to turn the messaging and social media service into an app that does much more than it does now, including payments.

Also on Wednesday, the Anti-Defamation League said it would resume spending on X after a temporary pause. The civil rights nonprofit had recommended in November that brand advertisers pause their campaigns, a plea that Musk said was responsible for the company’s steep ad drop-off. He went so far as to threaten a lawsuit.

The ADL revealed that it was pausing advertising because it was experiencing a wave of hateful posts. On Wednesday, the group said it’s preparing to resume its ad campaign “to bring our important message on fighting hate to X and its users.”

The ADL reiterated its stance that it did not orchestrate “a boycott of X” or cause “billions of dollars of losses to the company.”

The ADL said in a statement that it appreciates X’s “stated intent over the last few weeks to address antisemitism and hate on the platform” and added that “more needs to be done.”

WATCH: X CEO Linda Yaccarino gives tense interview at Code Conference

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