Elon Musk, after two years of dominating the platform formerly known as Twitter with his own divisive and often apocalyptic pronouncements, has announced an upcoming algorithm update for X that will prioritize “informational/entertaining” content. This shift in focus comes after Musk urged users to post more positive content, though he himself continues to share controversial and often inflammatory views on the platform.
This algorithmic change echoes Meta’s recent moves to reduce the reach of political content across its platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. Meta, facing criticism for the spread of misinformation and political divisiveness, has prioritized entertaining content, particularly short-form videos, mirroring TikTok’s successful model. By focusing on user engagement and entertainment value, platforms like Meta and potentially X aim to increase user time spent on the app and maximize revenue.
X currently allows users to prioritize their “Following” feed, giving them greater control over the content they see. However, this may limit user engagement and time spent on the platform. To increase engagement, X is likely to introduce changes that encourage users to explore the algorithm-driven “For You” feed, which features a wider range of content, including videos from accounts users don’t follow.
This shift in focus towards entertainment and away from divisive content presents an interesting contrast to Musk’s own frequent use of X to share his often controversial and pessimistic views. While the algorithm may prioritize positivity, Musk’s own influence on the platform remains significant, and it remains to be seen how his personal posting style will align with the platform’s evolving direction.
For content creators on X, this presents an opportunity to focus on creating engaging and entertaining video content. As the platform prioritizes this type of content, creators who can effectively leverage video formats are likely to see increased visibility and engagement. Elon Musk has stated that the details of the upcoming algorithm update will be published by the X Engineering team.