Due to his observation of “eyes bleeding,” Elon Musk, the proprietor of X, is removing bold language from messages displayed on users’ timelines, according to a recent announcement.
“It will be excluded from the primary timeline as a result of the immediate and disproportionate application of bold font on X,” he stated in a post released on Tuesday.
Mr. Musk stated that users must “click on post details” to access any content that is highlighted.
According to him, italics and “any other formatting” would be eliminated from timelines, as the formatting options were “being exploited for engagement farming.” He articulated the stated justification for the removal.
Among Mr. Musk’s supporters, the statement seemed to be positively received, with one individual indicating their approval by stating, “Glad to hear this.” The timeline experienced a notable reduction in its intensity.
In recent months, Mr. Musk has directed his focus towards engaging farmers.
In the realm of social media, the term denotes accounts that attain inflated engagement metrics by enticing users to interact with their content, all while failing to deliver any substantive value in exchange.
The owner of X indicated in April an intention to “suspend” and “trace source” accounts identified as participating in engagement farming; however, he did not elaborate on the methodologies that would be employed in this process.
Since April 2023, when bold and other text formatting options were first introduced, users have been leveraging these features to enhance visibility and drive higher engagement, ultimately aiming to maximise revenue from clicks on their posts.
Excessive use of formatting solely to attract attention is frustrating. A user of X responded to Mr. Musk’s statement by indicating that it complicates the readability of the information, resulting in a diminished enjoyment factor.
Sky News has yet to receive a response from X concerning the adjustments for which they have sought additional information.
At the time of this article’s publication, prominent posts continued to appear in the primary timeline.