Twitter under Elon Musk

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Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in October 2022; Musk acted as CEO of Twitter until June 2023 when he was succeeded by Linda Yaccarino. In a move that, despite Yaccarino's accession, was widely attributed to Musk,[1][2] Twitter was rebranded to X on July 23, 2023,[3] and its domain name changed from twitter.com to x.com on May 17, 2024.[4]

X is one of the top social media platforms and the fifth-most-visited website in the world as of June 2024.[5][6] Users can share posts containing text messages, images, and videos and interact with other users' content through likes and reposts.[7] X offers additional features such as direct messaging, video and audio calling, bookmarks, lists, communities, a chatbot, and the social audio feature Spaces.

Founded in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams as Twitter, it underwent a rebranding in July 2023 after being acquired by Elon Musk in 2022. Now operating as X, the platform closely resembles its predecessor but includes additional features such as long-form texts,[8] account monetization options,[9] audio-video calls,[10] integration with xAI's Grok chatbot,[11] job search,[12] and a verification process accessible to premium users.[13] Several Twitter legacy features were removed from the site after Musk acquired Twitter, including Circles,[14] NFT profile pictures,[15] and pronouns in profiles.[16] Musk aims to transform X into an "everything app", akin to WeChat.[17]

X has faced significant controversy post-rebranding. Issues such as the release of the Twitter Files, suspension of journalists' accounts, and temporary measures like labeling media outlets as "state-affiliated" and restricting their visibility have sparked criticism.[18][19] Despite Musk stepping down as CEO, X continues to struggle with challenges such as viral misinformation,[20] hate speech, and antisemitism controversies.[21][22] In response to allegations, X Corp. has pursued legal action against nonprofit organizations Media Matters and the Center for Countering Digital Hate.[18][23]

  1. ^ Stokel-Walker, Chris. "Twitter's rebrand to X is destined to fail, critics say". Fast Company.
  2. ^ Feiner, Lauren (July 25, 2023). "Musk explains why he's rebranding Twitter to X: It's not just a name change". CNBC. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference rebrand was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference url was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Challenge Validation". Similarweb. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  6. ^ Kerr, Dara (January 31, 2024). "Lawmakers grilled the CEOs of top social media companies in a hearing today". NPR. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Conger, Kate (August 3, 2023). "So What Do We Call Twitter Now Anyway?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  8. ^ Aadeetya, S (March 9, 2024). "X Brings 'Articles' That Lets You Post Long-Form Content". News18. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Elon Musk announces free premium features for X Accounts with over 2500 verified subscribers". The New Indian Express. March 28, 2024. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  10. ^ The Hindu Bureau (March 2, 2024). "How to control your new audio and video call privacy settings on X". The Hindu. Archived from the original on March 4, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  11. ^ "Grok will be available to X Premium Plus subscribers next week: Elon Musk". The Indian Express. November 23, 2023. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "X, formerly Twitter, opens job search function to all users". HR Dive. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Gerken, Tom (April 4, 2024). "X gives free blue ticks to its most popular users". BBC Home. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  14. ^ Peters, Jay (September 21, 2023). "X is shutting down Circles". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  15. ^ Mehta, Ivan (January 10, 2024). "X removes support for NFT profile pictures". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  16. ^ Manager, Social Media (March 31, 2024). "X Removes Pronoun Display Options on User Profiles". Social Media Today. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Ortutay, Barbara (May 25, 2023). "Elon Musk wants to build a digital town square. But his debut for DeSantis had a tech failure". AP News. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Stempel, Jonathan (March 25, 2024). "Musk's X Corp loses lawsuit against hate speech watchdog". Reuters. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  19. ^ Sengupta, Abhik (March 7, 2022). "Here's What Action Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Others Are Taking During Russia-Ukraine War". News18. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  20. ^ "Influencers On X Profiting From Fake News On Israel-Gaza War: Report". NDTV.com. February 22, 2019. Archived from the original on June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  21. ^ Frenkel, Sheera; Myers, Steven Lee (November 15, 2023). "Antisemitic and Anti-Muslim Hate Speech Surges Across the Internet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  22. ^ Clayton, James (November 18, 2023). "X ad boycott gathers pace amid antisemitism storm". BBC Home. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "X sues Media Matters over report about ads appearing next to Nazi posts". NBC News. November 21, 2023. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.