Elon Musk faces criticism over X algorithm change

Elon Musk is facing significant backlash following his announcement of an upcoming change to the X social media algorithm aimed at prioritising content deemed educational or informative over other types of content.  

"Our goal is to maximise un-regretted user-seconds. Too much negativity is being pushed that technically grows user time, but not un-regretted user time," writing in a January 3 post, Musk explained that the change is intended to address what he sees as "too much negativity" on the platform.

Users quickly voiced concerns about the potential for censorship, questioning how "negativity" would be determined and who would have the authority to make such judgments.  

"How does the algorithm determine 'negativity'?" independent journalist James Li asked Musk directly.

The announcement comes amid recent controversy surrounding Musk and the platform.  

In late December, Musk became embroiled in a public dispute over U.S. immigration policy after suggesting that the United States should revamp its immigration system to attract top international talent.  

This sparked criticism from right-wing influencers, who accused Musk of removing their premium features and monetisation access as a result of their opposing views.  

"Respecting free speech is easy when we agree with the speech, and hard when we think it's awful. But the arguments for respecting free speech anyway are the same as ever: the banhammer is controlled by one group today, it will be controlled by another group tomorrow," stated Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighed in on the broader issue, urging Musk to uphold free speech on the platform.