From Twitter to X: What's Changing in 2023
On July 24th, Twitter, the iconic blue bird platform, changed its name and identity to become X. Nine months after being acquired by billionaire Elon Musk, the social network has embarked on a vast overhaul, with the ambition of transforming into a "super app" offering a multitude of services.
This transformation project has already begun to materialize through several significant changes on the platform, including:
This transformation project has already begun to materialize through several significant changes on the platform, including:
- The end of free certified accounts: the small blue badge, which appeared on the accounts of certain public figures to prove their identity, is now paid. Since last April, only users who subscribe to the X Premium subscription (formerly Twitter Blue) can benefit from it
- Replacing Tweetdeck with X Pro: The monitoring application, which allows managing the activity of multiple accounts or following trends on certain keywords, changes its name and also becomes paid through the X Premium subscription, offered for $8 per month.
- New features for subscribers: paying accounts now benefit from new privileges on the platform, such as the ability to hide the number of likes on their posts, edit those already published for an hour, or receive better promotion of their tweets and responses.
- Rewarding certain users: X now offers platform users the opportunity to receive a share of the advertising revenue generated by their tweets. However, certain conditions must be met: having a minimum of 500 followers, having produced a minimum of 15 million impressions in the last three months, and of course, being subscribed to X Premium.
- Limiting the number of daily tweet views: users are now limited to 1,000 tweets per day for free accounts, while paying accounts can go up to 10,000. This measure, presented as "temporary" by Elon Musk, aims to combat the massive use of social network data by artificial intelligence models.
Furthermore, the changes are expected to continue: the American magazine Fortune, for example, revealed that X was considering hiding the title and description of articles shared on the platform, to only display the illustration image.
Using Twitter as a source of information in the era of X
According to the State of the Media report published in 2022 by Cision, nearly 6 out of 10 journalists use Twitter, especially to find information. But this figure could well decline in the coming years.
Indeed, journalists now find themselves obliged to pay for an X Premium subscription if they want to continue accessing the Tweetdeck tool for monitoring, or to consult more than 1,000 tweets per day.
But above all, the platform's new policy on account certification is causing chaos: hundreds of thousands of public figures have lost their blue badge, and it seems that many refuse to pay to get it back. The paid subscription system is indeed "shunned, mocked, and boycotted," as described in this article from Le Monde.
Moreover, fake accounts abound on the platform since it is enough to pay to obtain the famous verification symbol. Differentiating real accounts from usurped accounts thus becomes extremely difficult.
So is it still possible for journalists to use the social network as a source of information? As we explained in our article "Does Twitter still make sense for journalists?" it is highly likely that X will remain present in the daily lives of information professionals, but they will have to be extra vigilant in filtering out misleading information and carefully verifying their sources.
One solution will undoubtedly be to prioritize human contact. Laurent Barthélémy, a journalist at AFP, already explained this in 2022 in an interview on source handling.
Indeed, journalists now find themselves obliged to pay for an X Premium subscription if they want to continue accessing the Tweetdeck tool for monitoring, or to consult more than 1,000 tweets per day.
But above all, the platform's new policy on account certification is causing chaos: hundreds of thousands of public figures have lost their blue badge, and it seems that many refuse to pay to get it back. The paid subscription system is indeed "shunned, mocked, and boycotted," as described in this article from Le Monde.
Moreover, fake accounts abound on the platform since it is enough to pay to obtain the famous verification symbol. Differentiating real accounts from usurped accounts thus becomes extremely difficult.
So is it still possible for journalists to use the social network as a source of information? As we explained in our article "Does Twitter still make sense for journalists?" it is highly likely that X will remain present in the daily lives of information professionals, but they will have to be extra vigilant in filtering out misleading information and carefully verifying their sources.
One solution will undoubtedly be to prioritize human contact. Laurent Barthélémy, a journalist at AFP, already explained this in 2022 in an interview on source handling.
Disseminating journalistic work on X in 2023
Twitter has also become, year after year, a powerful distribution tool for journalists. Indeed, many have taken to using the platform to give visibility to their articles and interact with their audience.
For Stephen Barnard, a media researcher at Butler University, Twitter has even allowed some journalists to build "a brand in their own right, beyond their employer" (Source: Strategies). But these uses are also being disrupted by recent changes on X.
As noted earlier, X is pushing journalists to take out a paid subscription, this time to:
For Stephen Barnard, a media researcher at Butler University, Twitter has even allowed some journalists to build "a brand in their own right, beyond their employer" (Source: Strategies). But these uses are also being disrupted by recent changes on X.
As noted earlier, X is pushing journalists to take out a paid subscription, this time to:
- Ensure that their content is highlighted by the platform's algorithm, which may penalize free users by placing their tweets at the bottom of the list.
- Continue to benefit from their valuable blue badge if necessary, in order to preserve the trust of their followers.
Many debates are also emerging about the introduction of the system of rewarding certain users by the platform. While, at first glance, this novelty appears to be an opportunity for journalists, who are now able to monetize their articles directly, some voices are already denouncing its perverse effects.
An article in Libération indeed highlights the risks of "information pillaging" by news aggregators and unscrupulous news sites. These platforms, which simply repost professional media content to a wide audience, are indeed rewarded at the expense of journalists.
AFP and several major press publishers have also initiated legal proceedings against the social network for non-compliance with neighboring rights to copyright law. As explained in AFP's press release, Elon Musk refuses to compensate the media when their content is reused on the platform, despite the European directive adopted for this purpose in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether X's boss will make decisions to rebalance the situation in favor of information professionals, as he recently called out to them in a tweet: "If you are a journalist who wants more writing freedom and higher income, then publish directly on this platform!". But the future of journalism on X is more uncertain than ever.
Ingrid De Chevigny
An article in Libération indeed highlights the risks of "information pillaging" by news aggregators and unscrupulous news sites. These platforms, which simply repost professional media content to a wide audience, are indeed rewarded at the expense of journalists.
AFP and several major press publishers have also initiated legal proceedings against the social network for non-compliance with neighboring rights to copyright law. As explained in AFP's press release, Elon Musk refuses to compensate the media when their content is reused on the platform, despite the European directive adopted for this purpose in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether X's boss will make decisions to rebalance the situation in favor of information professionals, as he recently called out to them in a tweet: "If you are a journalist who wants more writing freedom and higher income, then publish directly on this platform!". But the future of journalism on X is more uncertain than ever.
Ingrid De Chevigny
