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Highlights and Controversies of Elon Musk's First Year Owning Twitter, Now Known as "X"

Major Changes, Loss of Users and Advertisers Define Musk's Tumultuous First Year as Twitter's Owner, As Shifts in Content Moderation and Mass Layoffs Promote Uncertainty.

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Overview

  • Elon Musk dramatically transformed Twitter, now 'X', since purchasing the social media platform for $44 billion. Major changes include a company rebrand, hostile ousting of top executives, and large-scale layoffs, leading to a shift in the platform's functionality and commercial viability.
  • Several advertisers and users left X, due to concerns regarding content moderation and the platform's future direction. Advertising revenue reportedly fell by 60%, and active tweeting declined by an estimated 30%, posing significant financial implications for the company.
  • Despite adverse conditions, Musk aims to evolve X into an 'everything app' for communication, entertainment, and payments. However, this ambition is perceived skeptically by some analysts due to the decline in users, advertisers, and the platform's relevance as a central news hub.
  • As part of the changes, the platform introduced a paid verification system, boosting posts by paying users, leading to the spread of misinformation. The European Union launched an investigation into X following concerns about disinformation and illegal content on the platform, particularly relating to the Israel-Hamas war.
  • Due to the decline in users and ad revenues, X explored alternate revenue streams, introducing a Premium service with multiple tiers and an ad-free option. Still, performance and traffic have similarly declined, with web traffic to the service and mobile usage decreasing by up to 17.8% year-over-year.