X Plans New Look for News Links Display

• Elon Musk confirms the change, stating it’s directly from him.
• Current Twitter card displays headline, summary text, and image in post previews.
• Change may allow magazines/blogs to entice users with custom text.

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has some fresh ambitions to improve the platform’s aesthetics. According to recent reports, X is preparing to provide a new way to display news links that do not include a title or description. In a post, the social network will display only the link and the header image.

Elon Musk verified this in a Monday post. He claimed that it was “directly” from him.

In the current layout, a Twitter card for a news story or a blog post displays the headline and summary text, as well as the header image, in the post preview. If the requested change is implemented, X/Twitter will only display the image with a link in a post. It means that if a newspaper or blog does not provide any text with the link, viewers will just see the link and the image for that article.

The new version aims to minimise the size of a post in order to fit more postings on one screen. Furthermore, Musk feels that removing headlines from the preview card will reduce clickbait. However, with no preview card, magazines or blogs can easily write any text enticing users to click on the link.

Prior to December 2014, a problem in X corrupted links and photos posted using the platform’s native service. The company eventually acknowledged the error via its platform support account and stated that the issue would be entirely rectified in the following days. The platform is also in the midst of replacing the blocking functionality with an enhanced mute option that will allow users to follow someone without being able to engage with them.

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