Elon Musk's X to bring back headlines for links shared on the platform

X had stopped showing headlines in link previews shared on the platform in early October, a few months after Musk had stated plans to do so

Elon Musk said on November 23 that X, previously known as Twitter, will bring back headlines to links shared on the platform, thereby reversing the company's decision to remove them last month.

The headlines will however be displayed as an overlay on the image, Musk said in a post.

"In an upcoming release, X will overlay title in the upper potion of the image of a URL card" he said. However, Musk didn't disclose any specific information on how it will appear on the platform or when it will be rolled out.

A screenshot of Elon Musk's tweet indicating that X will bring back titles to posts

X had stopped showing headlines in link previews shared on the platform in early October, a few months after Musk had stated plans to do so, saying the change would “greatly improve the esthetics,”.

This changed how news links appear on the platform, with the links becoming hidden in the lead image of the article. Users had to tap on the URL overlaid on the image to read the headline. This had resulted in some publications and users including the headline in the image preview of the article on the platform.

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Musk has previously said the company's algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, hence links "don’t get as much attention, because there is less time spent if people click away". He has also been encouraging people to post content directly onto the platform in an effort to drive more engagement on the platform.

The move comes at a time when X is facing a major advertiser exodus, with companies such as Apple, Disney, IBM, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Sony among others pausing their advertising campaigns on the platform after Musk's endorsement of antisemitic posts.

The company also sued media watchdog group Media Matters, alleging the organization defamed the platform after it published a report that said ads for major brands had appeared next to posts touting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.