X (Twitter) shows link titles again, but with a slight change

Xformerly called Twitterbegan show link headers again which are published on the platform. Elon Musk, owner of the social network since 2022, deleted this preview just two months ago. The tycoon said he wanted to improve the “aesthetics” of the site, but several media outlets and advertisers complained about the modification.

Headlines have returned to the web version of the social network, albeit with minor changes. They now appear above images that link to related pages, and are smaller in size, in the lower left corner. They replace the name of the linked website, which is now on a new line between the link preview and the post interaction buttons.

Yes indeed display is far from ideal. If link titles are too long, they will not be fully displayed. This means that if the header is not included as a separate text in one message, it will be truncated. For some this will be a minor detail; for others, sloppy implementation.

Elon Musk already announced in November that he would cancel the changes, which got X (Twitter) users to click or tap a URL card to find out the title of the article. Some thought it was a way to reduce the size of posts and show more content in feed. Others suggested it was a strategy to stop alarmist headlines and combat clickbait.

Eliminating the headlines was also seen as another step forward in Elon Musk’s battle with the mainstream media. Since taking control of X (Twitter), the billionaire has suspended journalists from the platform and placed controversial labels on the profiles of state-funded media outlets. He even went so far as to restrict traffic to websites run by companies he publicly fought.

Advertisers did not like the removal of titles X (Twitter)

Magazine Luck reported that Musk pitched the idea of ​​removing headlines to advertisers, but the plan was unsuccessful. And that now is not the best time to annoy those who pay on schedule. But this did not prevent the implementation of the controversial function.

X (Twitter) faced a defection of its largest advertisers in November after an investigation found that brands were displayed next to far-right messages, some of which were openly pro-Nazi. Apple, IBM, Disney and the European Commission were among the advertisers that suspended their advertising.

Meaning The billionaire, true to his style, said “to hell” in an interview with companies that stopped investing money in advertising.

Elon Musk bought the social network for about $44 billion.. Now X (Twitter) is worth 71.5% less, according to estimates from Fidelity, one of the largest investors in the purchase.

Elon Musk has repeatedly emphasized his goal of reducing dependence on advertising. In October, the company announced it would begin charging new users to use basic features. It also tried to make the premium version attractive by offering some additional features, such as the ability to edit messages or write longer texts. However, until the middle of last year Just over 800,000 users have subscribed to X Premium, according to data compiled by third-party researcher Travis Brown.