Study Suggests X Turned Right Just In Time For Election Season

A pair of researchers say they've determined that July 13 was likely the day that X, formerly known as Twitter, made platform-level algorithm changes that increased the visibility of posts made by Elon Musk and Republican-leaning accounts in the run-up to the US election.

That date may stick out in the memory as when Elon Musk, now the owner of X, formally endorsed Donald Trump in the recent US presidential election.

Coincidence? Perhaps not, according to a working paper shared by Timothy Graham and Mark Andrejevic of Queensland University of Technology. The pair examined posts made by Musk, Republican-leaning accounts, and Democrat-leaning accounts between January 1 and October 25, noting that July 13 appeared to be the day the tide turned red on X.

Their research was split into two phases, one looking at the prominence of Musk's posts pushed to users through features like the default "For You" feed, and the other comparing the prominence of Republican- or Democrat-aligned posts.

Graham and Andrejevic observed an increase in all metrics for Musk's posts on the platform from mid-July onward. These included views, retweets, and favorites.

Equally, the pair add, Republican-leaning posts were found to have enjoyed a more significant boost in terms of their visibility to users, and engagements were also vastly higher than those on Democrat-leaning posts, although both sides saw fairly even increases. Republican-leaning posts started off with markedly higher counts on all metrics to start with, however.

For the Republican-Democrat section of the analysis, Republicans' posts were viewed and engaged with more frequently before the July 13 changes, but after that date, their visibility shot up in comparison to Democrat posts, and both sides saw equal increases in engagements.

The pair's analysis found Musk's posts already had "substantially higher baseline view counts" compared to other users, but this saw a noticeable additional jump on July 13, one that increased steadily in the following weeks before culminating in a massive spike at the end of October.

On average, between July 13 and October 25, the CEO's posts scored 138.27 percent more views than they did before. Other users' posts saw a less pronounced increase of 56.93 percent over the same period.

What followed was an even bigger increase in the number of retweets Musk's posts received – 237.94 percent after July 13. Other users also saw an increase, but only by 152.15 percent. Similar findings were made when looking at the number of times his posts were favorited.

"These findings underscore a distinct pattern that may indicate an algorithmic shift that disproportionately favored Musk's account, contributing to a considerable engagement advantage," the researchers noted. "This visibility bias, if linked to platform algorithm adjustments, highlights the impact of such structural changes on engagement dynamics and the potential for differential treatment among users.

"This outcome has broader implications for understanding how platform algorithms may shape public discourse by influencing which voices and content receive heightened visibility and interaction."

The findings also showed that Republican accounts started off with an average of 1.3 million more views compared to Democrat users and after the platform changes, Republican account posts received an additional 952,300 views per post.

According to the visualized data in the paper, Republican accounts received massive view count increases toward the end of October while those of Democrat accounts tailed off.

"We speculate that the view count findings suggest possible recommendation algorithm bias for visibility that privileges pro-Republican accounts, warranting further investigation to understand the mechanisms driving these algorithmic shifts," the researchers wrote.

"The findings may also be influenced by the significant boost that Elon Musk received to his engagement metrics following the structural break, which further research should examine."

Confirming suspicions

The findings echo those of the Pew Research Center from June, which found X to be a more welcoming platform for those with Republican views than those that lean left.

• Bluesky capitalizes on X woes with funding and user growth
• X to allow third parties to train their AI models with social media users' data
• Elon Musk's X isn't important enough to feel the full force of EU regulation
• Elon Musk's X mashed by Australian court for evading child protection reporting

They also lend support for anecdotal claims that the platform had become more right-wing, exposing users to more reactionary views than before Musk was at the helm.

There were, of course, prominent voices saying the platform formerly known as Twitter was too left-leaning and stifled the voices of those on the other side. One of the voices was indeed the President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to lead the US for another four years starting in 2025.

If the findings of the research are to be believed, Trump is also the same person who may have benefited from the apparent platform-level changes made in the lead-up to the election he just won.

As ever, we'd usually reach out to X for an official response to the study, but Musk pretty swiftly after taking control sacked the company's press team in favor of an auto-reply poop emoji for all incoming media requests. This was later replaced with "We'll get back to you soon," but that never happens.

Post-election exodus

Following the result of the US election earlier this month, many high-profile figures and organizations have announced their desertion of X in favor of other sites such as Bluesky.

The Guardian newspaper is among the more famous brands to have officially exited the platform, calling it "toxic," while the likes of Ben Stiller and Jamie Lee Curtis are among the household Hollywood names to have also left.

Bluesky was created by none other than Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and describes itself as "social media as it should be."

Its popularity has surged in recent weeks, with up to 1 million people signing up to the site on a daily basis. Those with accounts will know it looks very similar to X, but feels more like how Twitter used to be ten years ago.

It's free of advertising, for now, and has no algorithmic post-pushing – just a feed full of posts from followed accounts appearing in chronological order.

For those interested in the platform, we vultures are flying high among the other Bluesky residents, and you can stay up to date with our latest cawings by following our account. ®