Elon Musk plans to alter X algorithm over ‘too much negativity’
X owner Elon Musk now intends to promote more “entertaining” and “informational” content by altering his social media app’s algorithm. Concerns over free speech among users, particularly from Donald Trump’s MAGA base, are growing.
Musk announced his plans to tweak the algorithm on his X account. He wrote, “Our goal is to maximize unregretted user-seconds. Too much negativity is being pushed that technically grows user time, but not unregretted user time.” Essentially, Musk thinks that while negative content draws traction, it leaves users feeling weary and tired of X.
Several conservative voices have spoken out against Musk’s decision to implement this algorithm fix. Right-wing commentator Candace Owens accused Musk of censorship. She stated that Musk’s announcement was a “beautiful euphemism for the censorship of ideas.” Another figure was rethinking his X subscription. He stated, “Cancel it. I’m not paying for the tech bro to sit here and deboost people for “free speech” that he claimed to promote.”
Others from Trump’s MAGA base felt blindsided by Musk’s move. They welcomed Musk into the MAGA movement, then flocked to X over promises of free speech. She wrote, “We championed Elon and supported and welcomed him with open arms as he joined MAGA. Then we watched as account after account was demonetized, stolen subscribers, and eventually suspended.” Musk has not yet implemented the changes.
Although he hasn’t announced when he’ll do it, many of his supporters are still displeased. It seems that his feud with the MAGA crowd escalated since the majority of the base disagreed with him on his stance regarding the H-1B visa. MAGA influencers have also accused Musk of censoring and deboosting their platforms on X for disagreeing with him.
What defines ‘negative?’
Where things stand, Musk is the sole arbiter of what content will be deemed ‘negative.’ Informational content isn’t always positive, but it’s essential for people to be informed of these types of news stories. According to Pew Research in 2021, seven in ten adults in the U.S use Twitter as a source for breaking news. Musk has been highly critical of legacy media. This policy could possibly limit their posts visibility on X, but that’s pure speculation. At the moment, Musk hasn’t made clear what kind of posts will have restricted views on his social media site.
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