X to Eliminate Headlines and Text in Shared Articles

People who follow publications like ReturnByte on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, will be aware that the articles they share on the platform currently appear with a text snippet, an image, and sometimes a shortened version of the headline. However, this is set to change in the near future. Fortune reports that the company is planning significant alterations to the way shared articles are displayed in a tweet (or post, as it is now referred to), with the intention of removing the text elements and only featuring the lead images along with an overlay of the URL. Elon Musk has confirmed this update and revealed that the concept originated directly from him.

This backs up Fortune’s report that Musk is pushing for a new format. It also says that the change is going to happen, even though X carried it out with advertisers who didn’t like it. The company’s main reason for removing text from shared tweets is apparently to make the messages look less compact and fit more into the part of the timeline that is visible on the screen. Musk also believes it could help reduce instances of clickbait shared on the website. As the post explains, the current form of X typically cuts out some of the header from shared articles, which works to the benefit of sites that write clickbait headlines and posts.

It is also very possible that X is making this change to encourage not only news publications but also individuals to write more substantial posts on the website itself. After all, they need to add context to the URL they’re sharing to get readers to click on the lead’s image. Musk has encouraged users to post long pieces directly to the platform and allows Blue subscribers to write up to 25,000 characters in a single message. Recently, Musk tweeted that journalists who want “more freedom to write and higher income” should publish directly on X. However, as 9to5Mac points out, X recently had trouble paying creators a portion of its ad revenue sharing program because the number of interested users far exceeded its expectations.