X (formerly known as Twitter) has officially removed article headlines on links shared to the platform and viewed on its official mobile app, after owner Elon Musk warned the change was coming in August.
Prior to the implemented change, when any account posted a link to X, the tweet would include a featured image, a headline and a brief description of the story. But now X cards only display the featured image from the article, without additional context.
If the account posting the link wants a headline or synopsis, they will have to do it manually. It appears that the change has only impacted mobile users and has not yet made its way to X for desktop.
X did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. The platform’s also made a habit under Musk of not responding to requests from the press.
Musk announced that this change was coming in August in an attempt to reduce clickbait-style posts and shrink the size of posts in a user’s feed, as well as to improve the site’s aesthetics.
The controversial billionaire has spent this week touting his service and its capability to host longform posts, rather than the traditionally used links to news media stories. The X owner has been attempting to convince X users to post news directly to his platform, rather than going through media organizations.
Newly minted X CEO Linda Yaccarino spoke at the Code Conference last week in a disastrous interview, leading many to question whether she is adequately equipped to handle both X and Musk’s notoriously unhinged behavior.
