Elon Musk Seeks to Block News Headlines from Twitter Link Previews

It seems that Twitter’s future features are not limited to just the ‘block’ function being in danger. According to reports, Elon Musk, the owner of the company, is now focusing on link previews, after expressing his belief that blocking users is pointless and considering removing this feature. Currently, many news organizations share their articles on Twitter, which generates a link preview including an image, URL, headline, and summary. However, it is possible that the headline will be removed in order to reduce the size of the preview window.

Fortune watched the footage, which revealed that Musk is driving this change directly. The report cited unnamed sources as saying, “It’s something Elon wants. They ran it by advertisers who didn’t like it, but it’s happening.” The primary reason appears to be reducing the height of preview posts so users can see more content in one window, as well as clickbait containment, according to the report.

However, it is likely that the move was made to force editors to publish directly on X.

A few hours ago, Musk tweeted: “If you are a journalist who wants more freedom to write and more income, then publish directly on this platform”.

Twitter removes news headlines from previews

While the above reasons make sense, there is probably another reason behind the move. As X aims to be an “everything app”, one of the biggest hurdles the platform has to address is reducing website traffic through external links. By definition, any app is supposed to be a platform that can keep users engaged longer and give them everything they need without leaving the app. This includes games, payment interface, shopping options, entertainment, social media and more.

So news sites taking users off their platform is not in Musk’s or the company’s best interest. But if journalists started writing directly to the platform, it would not only stop users from leaving, but also bring more users to the original reporting.

Right now, though, that’s a lofty idea at best, as most news sites are governed by strict industry standards that ensure fact-checking and minimize errors. In the absence of such guidelines and system on Twitter, building trust in the platform’s original journalism is difficult.