X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has stopped showing news headlines on articles.
Now, users can see a lead image and an overlaid URL to the article. The change ditches the previously included website, headline, and article snippet.
Elon Musk confirmed the change was coming back in August but didn’t specify a deadline. The billionaire said the change will “greatly improve the esthetics [sic].”
MobileSyrup‘s test shows the platform has partially implemented the change on the web. As seen below, the image on the left showcases the new format. The image on the right is how shared articles previously looked on the platform. At the time of writing, the change has made its way to iOS but not to Android devices.
While some articles have the URL overlaid on the image, others have the link listed separately on top of the image, as seen below.
Musk previously stated the change will also help address clickbait. According to Fortune, which was the first site to point out the change in August, the old method only showed part of a headline, which worked to the benefit of websites creating clickbait headlines and articles.
The change also appears to be part of Musk’s push to attract more posts relating to long-form content on the platform.
“Our algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, so links don’t get as much attention, because there is less time spent if people click away,” Musk posted on October 3rd. “Best thing is to post content in long form on this platform.”
Image credit: Shutterstock
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