Musk says publishers should post content in long form on X instead of links

Elon Musk suggested publishers should post content in long form on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday, saying links will not get as much attention.

It’s an important change for the site, which has frequently been used by journalists and the news media to try to promote their stories.

“Our algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, so links don’t get as much attention, because there is less time spent if people click away,” Musk said in an X post. “Best thing is to post content in long form on this platform.”

The post seems in line with other posts in recent days in which Musk said he “almost never” reads “legacy news anymore,” praises “[c]itizen journalism,” and encourages “people around the world to post news about events as they’re happening.”

“What’s the point of reading 1000 words about something that was already posted on X several days ago?” a post on X by Musk read.

Musk, for his part, has faced criticism for his changes to content moderation that some have said increased misinformation on X.

A recent report by the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition found X ranked last among a group of social media platforms for its work on addressing climate change misinformation. 

CAAD said X is “lacking clear policies that address climate misinformation, having no substantive public transparency mechanisms, and offering no evidence of effective policy enforcement.” 

“While they announced an advertising policy that prohibits climate denial ads in the spring of 2022, there’s no data as to whether this policy has been enforced or not,” the report said. 

Musk has also scrapped with CNN over a fake headline he posted.

Last November, the billionaire posted a screenshot of an image featuring a fictitious chyron on the network saying, “Elon Musk could threaten free speech on Twitter by literally allowing people to speak freely.”

“This headline never appeared on CNN,” CNN’s public relations department wrote in a post directed at Musk on X. “Be better.”

“Lmaoooo,” Musk said in reply.