elon-musk-faces-backlash-for-plans-to-remove-likes-and-reposts-from-x-timeline

Elon Musk, ignited controversy on Thursday with his announcement of a significant change to the popular social media platform X.

 

Musk revealed his intention to eliminate the display of likes and reposts from users' timelines, replacing them solely with view counts.

 

While Musk touted this move as a simplification of metrics, many users vehemently opposed the decision, labeling it as "excessively stupid" and warning of a potential decline in engagement.

 

The announcement came in response to a post by the prominent X handle, DogeDesigner, who initially hinted at the platform's consideration of removing likes and repost counts from users' feeds. Musk swiftly confirmed the decision, asserting that "just view count, as a proxy for the other metrics, will show on the timeline."

 

The proposed change was met with strong resistance from users, who argued that visibility of likes and reposts often serves as a crucial factor in driving engagement. Critics contended that without these metrics readily visible, users would be less inclined to interact with posts, ultimately diminishing overall engagement on the platform.

 

"This will cause less engagement as people tend to engage with posts they can see are having a big amount of likes," one user commented, echoing the sentiments of many others. Another user went further, denouncing the move as "excessively stupid" and predicting a significant reduction in engagement without any tangible benefits.

 

Amidst the backlash, some users offered alternative suggestions, such as the addition of a dislike button to complement the proposed changes. However, Musk has yet to address these suggestions directly.

 

This latest controversy comes on the heels of Musk's recent announcement regarding a new feature for X users, allowing them to pin posts for their followers to see.

 

Musk revealed that users would soon have the ability to pin one post every 48 hours, with the assurance that all followers would be guaranteed visibility of these pinned posts through adjustments to the platform's recommendation algorithm.