Main topic: Social media company X (formerly Twitter) now allows paid users to hide their verification checkmarks.
Key points:
1. Twitter introduced paid verification last year with the Twitter Blue relaunch.
2. The service was renamed to XBlue during the ongoing rebranding exercise.
3. The company has updated the help page for paid subscriptions, stating that even if the checkmark is hidden, it might still be visible in some places.
4. The option to hide the checkmark will be available in the "Profile customization" section of account settings.
5. This feature will allow users to benefit from subscription features without displaying that they are a verified account.
6. In March, Twitter was reported to be working on a feature to hide checkmarks with ID verification.
7. There was controversy surrounding paid verification, as it was difficult to differentiate between legacy verified accounts and those who paid for the checkmark.
8. Twitter initially removed legacy checkmarks but later reinstated them for top accounts, regardless of payment.
9. Since the relaunch, Twitter has introduced various features to incentivize users, such as a 10,000-character limit for posts, a 3-hour video upload limit, fewer ads on the timeline, and ad revenue sharing for subscribed users.
10. In May, the platform enabled encrypted DMs for verified users.
The main topic is the streamlining of the crowdsourced fact-checking feature Community Notes by Elon Musk-owned X (formerly known as Twitter). The key points are:
1. Community Notes will remove detailed explanations for experienced users.
2. The feature will continue to provide explanations for new users.
3. The change reflects the growing understanding of the fact-checking process.
4. Community Notes use a "bridging" algorithm to find consensus among diverse contributors.
5. Users must prove their capability to write helpful notes to become contributors.
6. Community Notes cannot be edited or modified by X's team members.
7. Musk has praised Community Notes as a gamechanger for accuracy on Twitter.
8. Community Notes have become a focus of development as other areas of Twitter have been cut or revamped.
Main topic: X (formerly known as Twitter) throttling traffic to websites disliked by Elon Musk.
Key points:
1. X slowed down access to websites including The New York Times, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, Reuters, and Substack.
2. These websites have been publicly attacked by Musk in the past.
3. The delays potentially affected the traffic and ad revenue of these companies.
Hint on Elon Musk: Musk has previously blocked links to competitors, called the New York Times "propaganda," and took away their verification check mark. He has also feuded with Mark Zuckerberg and threatened a cage fight.
Main topic: Elon Musk-owned social network X (formerly Twitter) has made TweetDeck a subscriber-only product.
Key points:
1. TweetDeck, previously a free tool, is now only accessible to subscribers of X Pro.
2. This move affects social media managers, journalists, and power users who relied on TweetDeck for tracking lists and trends on Twitter/X.
3. Under Musk's ownership, X has introduced various subscription offerings, including verification marks, longer text and video posts, fewer ads, encryption in DMs, and ad revenue sharing.
Hint on Elon Musk: Elon Musk is the owner of social network X (formerly Twitter) and has implemented changes such as making TweetDeck a subscriber-only product and introducing various subscription offerings.
Main topic: X (formerly Twitter) changes post sorting method and makes X Pro (formerly TweetDeck) a subscriber-only product.
Key points:
1. X (formerly Twitter) now sorts posts by like counts when users are logged out, instead of the order in which they were posted.
2. Posts still appear in chronological order on profiles when logged in, but are sorted by performance when logged out.
3. X Pro (formerly TweetDeck) is now only accessible to verified users as a subscriber-only product.
Hint on Elon Musk: Elon Musk took over as the head of X (formerly Twitter) last year and has implemented several changes since then.
Main topic: Elon Musk addressing the lack of transparency around "shadowbanning" on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Key points:
1. Musk apologizes for the delay in addressing the issue and explains the challenges faced by X in providing data to users.
2. Shadowbanning has been a concern on Twitter, with users unaware of being penalized for their tweets.
3. Musk insists that users should have the right to know if they've been shadowbanned and mentions a ground-up rewrite of X's codebase to simplify the process.
Hint on Elon Musk: Musk took over Twitter and attempted to prove the existence of shadowbanning by releasing information, but it only provided a behind-the-scenes look at social media moderation. He acknowledges the difficulties in tackling the problem and mentions ongoing efforts to simplify the codebase.
Main topic: Tumblr's new web browser look and its attempt to attract new users.
Key points:
1. Tumblr has rolled out a new navigation interface that resembles Twitter (formerly known as X) to make it easier for users to understand and explore the platform.
2. The changes were made based on user feedback during the testing phase and include tweaks to settings, messaging windows, and the Account section.
3. Tumblr saw an increase in new users after Elon Musk took over Twitter, and it may be trying to attract more users by making its platform look more like Twitter.
Hint on Elon Musk: Elon Musk took over Twitter (formerly known as X), which led to an increase in new users on Tumblr.
Main topic: Elon Musk's decision to remove the ability to "block" someone on social media platform X, except in DMs.
Key points:
1. Blocking is a crucial function for ensuring safety on social media platforms.
2. Musk's decision may breach Google's Play Store guidelines for apps hosting user-generated content.
3. Users are voicing their concerns and questioning the impact of this decision.
Main Topic: X (formerly known as Twitter) is planning to make major changes to the way shared articles appear on the platform, removing text elements and leaving only lead images with an overlay of the URL.
Key Points:
1. The removal of text elements aims to improve aesthetics, make posts less compact, and fit more posts in the timeline that appears on screen.
2. Elon Musk, CEO of X, supports the new format and believes it could help reduce clickbait.
3. X may be implementing this change to encourage individuals and news publications to write longer posts directly on the platform, potentially providing more context to the shared URLs.
A recent study conducted by the Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University revealed that X (formerly known as Twitter) has a bot problem, with approximately 1,140 AI-powered accounts that generate fake content and steal selfies to create fake personas, promoting suspicious websites, spreading harmful content, and even attempting to steal from existing crypto wallets. These accounts interact with human-run accounts and distort online conversations, making it increasingly difficult to detect their activity and emphasizing the need for countermeasures and regulation.
Elon Musk's company, X (formerly Twitter), has introduced a new feature for verified organizations to post job listings on the platform, allowing them to reach millions of candidates and connect them to the organization's website for applications.
Elon Musk's social network, formerly known as Twitter and now called X, is facing 2,200 arbitration cases filed by ex-employees after Musk took over the company, leading to potential filing fees of $3.5 million, as revealed in a recent court filing. The cases are part of a lawsuit in a Delaware district court brought by a former senior staff network engineer, Chris Woodfield, who alleges that X failed to pay his severance and delayed the dispute resolution process by not paying the necessary fees.
Former pharmaceutical executive and convicted securities fraudster Martin Shkreli claims he has been lobbying Elon Musk through mutual friends to regain access to his original X (formerly Twitter) account, alleging that Musk's actions contradict his stance on free speech; Shkreli believes Musk may be jealous of him and his machismo.
Elon Musk's Twitter, now rebranded as X, has obtained a currency transmitter license in Rhode Island, indicating a possible move towards crypto payments and turning the platform into an all-in-one app like China's WeChat.
Twitter/X owner Elon Musk is planning to launch video and audio calls on the social media platform, which will be available on all major platforms and will not require a phone number.
Twitter's updated privacy policy allows it to collect biometric data from users, specifically from government IDs and selfies, in an effort to enhance security and fight impersonation attempts.
X, formerly known as Twitter, will collect biometric data, such as facial scans, from its users as part of its new privacy policy, aimed at offering potential job recommendations and enhancing security.
X's updated privacy policy reveals that it will collect biometric data, job and education history, and use publicly available information to train its machine learning and AI models, potentially for Elon Musk's other company, xAI, which aims to use public tweets for training its AI models.
Elon Musk's Subscriptions feature on X (formerly Twitter) is not gaining significant traction, with Musk having only 40,000 subscribers out of his 155 million followers, suggesting that it is not a successful tool in the creator economy.
X's new content moderation policy, which limits the visibility of certain tweets rather than removing them, has made it difficult for the social media platform to convince brands that it is safe for advertising.
Twitter, now called X, is suing California over a state law that requires social media companies to disclose their content policies, claiming it violates free speech and pressure them to remove objectionable content.
Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter led to multiple business decisions that violated the company's internal policies and likely ran afoul of a government order on data security and privacy, according to depositions from former employees published by the Justice Department in a court filing.
The US government is seeking Elon Musk's testimony in an investigation into X (formerly known as Twitter), citing concerns about the company's ability to comply with the law and protect user privacy.
Elon Musk is known for his disruptive innovation in the electric vehicle industry, space exploration, and his controversial use of Twitter, but his historical significance and impact on social media may not be seen as a net force for good in the long run.
Elon Musk is considering turning the social network, formerly known as Twitter, into a subscription-based platform in order to eliminate bots and address financial issues.
Elon Musk suggests that Twitter may no longer be free and is considering implementing a small monthly payment to combat bots on the platform.
Elon Musk suggests that users of X (formerly Twitter) may have to pay for access to the platform in order to counter bots, with a small monthly payment being considered as a defense against fake accounts.
