Summary
Elon Musk confirmed that X (formerly Twitter) deprioritizes posts containing links, encouraging users to post links in replies instead.
This practice, aimed at keeping users on the platform, has drawn criticism for restricting access to external information and harming media outlets’ traffic.
Past reports revealed X also delayed links to rival platforms and news outlets, prompting concerns about press freedom and revenue impacts.
The Guardian recently left X, labeling it “toxic,” while other media and free speech advocates accuse the platform of enabling disinformation and controlling narratives.
The real reason they want people to put content and images directly into the post instead of “lazily linking” it is because by doing so the EULA gives X the right to use that content for their recommendation algorithms and AI training data. External sites can be copyrighted and paywalled.