Elon Musk Announces Algorithm Change on Twitter (X) to Combat Negativity and Promote Positive Content

Elon Musk is bringing some surprising content changes to Twitter.

On Friday, he announced an “algorithm tweak” on the platform, now known as X, aiming to combat “too much negativity” on the platform and enhance “unregretted user-seconds.” Musk, who purchased the platform in October 2022, shared plans to promote more “informational/entertaining content” while allowing users to dynamically adjust their feeds.

Algorithm tweak coming soon to promote more informational/entertaining content. We will publish the changes to @XEng.

Our goal is to maximize unregretted user-seconds. Too much negativity is being pushed that technically grows user time, but not unregretted user time.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 4, 2025

This shift follows Musk’s controversial actions, including reinstating accounts like Donald Trump’s after the January 6th Capitol riot and supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign. Musk’s backing of Trump’s co-leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy further fueled debates.

Responses to Musk’s announcement varied widely. Ed Krassenstein, an AI expert, called the timing “interesting,” contrasting X’s approach to negativity during Biden’s presidency with the current direction under Trump.

The impact of Musk’s algorithm changes remains uncertain, but users should soon begin seeing some changes in their timelines.