X gets a front-row seat in the White House: How Musk turned a social media platform into government mouthpiece

X gets a front-row seat in the White House

On a recent Thursday afternoon, an unusual face appeared in the White House press briefing room. John Stoll, newly appointed head of news at X (formerly Twitter), took the first question of the day, handpicked by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Her introduction left no ambiguity: “As you all know — you are all on X — it’s home to hundreds of millions of users, a large contingent of independent journalists and news organizations across geographies and political spectrums.”

That moment signalled something bigger than media rotation. It cemented X’s transition from tech platform to megaphone of government policy. Since Trump’s return to office, Elon Musk’s platform has become a central tool for the administration’s communications, amplified by Musk himself and his more than 219 million followers, the New York Times reported.

X as the White House's loudspeaker

Government agencies have scrambled to align with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, creating DOGE-themed X accounts with official grey verification badges. These accounts function as digital tip lines for reporting federal waste and are promoted actively on Musk’s personal feed. Even major departments like the IRS and the Pentagon have jumped onboard.

Despite lagging revenue and regulatory scrutiny abroad, X is experiencing a revival, buoyed by Musk’s closeness to Trump. Internal emails reveal a platform still struggling to meet ad goals—it posted $91 million in Q1 ad revenue, well below its $153 million target—but now has the cachet of being the administration’s unofficial media partner. Bankers have offloaded billions in X’s debt recently, and advertisers like Amazon and Apple are returning.

Selling the struggling to the thriving

On March 28, Musk sold X to his newer venture, artificial intelligence startup xAI, in a move that puzzled analysts but boosted valuations. X was pegged at $33 billion, while xAI clocked in at $80 billion. The fusion tied X’s fortunes to a more promising growth story.

Musk has pitched X as the antidote to legacy media. “You are the media now,” he posted on Jan. 15, sharing a video that cast X as the future of citizen journalism. In another move to rebrand, X appointed Stoll, a former Wall Street Journal editor, as its head of news to manage media partnerships and content strategy.

A chair for "new media"

Not long after Trump took office, a seat was formally designated in the White House press room for "new media" — influencers, podcasters, and nontraditional outlets. Stoll was the first to fill it under this new rubric. His question? It wasn’t about X or tech, but foreign policy: “Does the administration have the competence to go toe-to-toe with Vladimir Putin?”

Government messaging, Musk style

X's new government-aligned branding has its critics. David Kaye, a law professor at UC Irvine, warns that Musk is turning X into a form of state media “without any kind of constraint.” Yet for Trump allies and efficiency hawks, X is a direct pipeline to decision-makers. Senator Joni Ernst proudly called herself the Senate’s “top watchDOGE,” to which Musk responded with a flag emoji and public praise.

The press may still file stories and networks may still air briefings, but the White House has a new favourite podium—and it’s digital, blue, and verified on X.