J. David Stark

Do You Have Questions about What Happened with X?

TL;DR

The content of my X feed has substantively changed for the foreseeable future.1 If you find value in what I post there, please continue following. Otherwise, if you would like to see content like I more typically post, please

An Open Letter

Friends,

I joined Twitter (now X) in August 2009. Since then, there have been a great many things about the platform that I enjoy. I’ve particularly liked the short post formats and ease of connecting with others.

On this platform and others, I fully support the right of individuals to the free expression of views they sincerely hold. This support extends to the use of such platforms by their owners to express their views.

I do not feel that the views of a platform owner(s) necessarily reflect views embedded within the platform. Nor do I expect any great degree of agreement between myself, a platform owner(s), or a platform as a condition for using a given platform. The same holds true for the owner(s) and providers of any number of other goods and services.

During the summer of 2024, Elon Musk threw his support behind what became a campaign of Donald Trump for a second presidential term.2 Part of this support involved Musk’s promotion on X of Trump’s candidacy and other aligned views.

With all of this I’ve been content for the reasons indicated above. This said, some weeks ago, I decided I would need to reconsider how I use X if it were shown that the platform—not simply Musk as its owner—were to similarly align itself.

X now limits access to some data that has previously been available. So, it is difficult to determine with certainty, but it appears that X’s algorithm has indeed been adjusted to priviledge content that is pro-MAGA (“Make America Great Again”). It may be doing directly, indirectly (e.g., through priviledging Musk’s own pro-MAGA content), or some combination of the two. For pertinent reporting, see

These findings follow earlier reporting that documented adjustments to X’s algorithm designed to favor Musk’s own content in 2023.

Such algorithmic privileging enhances the free expression of the views the algorithm favors. But precisely where it does so, it does not support free, evenhanded exchange of and over contrary views and is, therefore, suppressive toward such views.3

I will be happy to find that this situation has been resolved or, on still further investigation, shown not to have been the case after all. In the meantime, however, it is with some sadness that I feel my use of X needs to change.4 I will not be closing my account, but for the foreseeable future from 10 November 2024, I will

  • not be responding to either direct messages or replies to posts
  • continue posting, but the content of those posts will mostly address concerns about current political agendas.

If you find value in this content, please feel free to continue following along on X. Otherwise, if you would like to see content like I have more typically been posting to date, please

Thank you for your understanding.

  1. Header image provided by BoliviaInteligente. ↩︎
  2. Image provided by Free Malaysia Today. ↩︎
  3. See also the summary excerpt from Graham and Andrejevic’s article collected by the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi’s “Observatoire de la liberté d’expression.” ↩︎
  4. The Guardian has recently made a similar decision, although not specifically tied to apparent algorithmic changes. ↩︎

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