According to Newsweek, Mary Trump, the niece of former President Donald Trump, has publicly criticized tech mogul Elon Musk for his recent decision to conceal the 'likes' feature on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Musk acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal in 2022, with the ambition of transforming the platform into a "digital public square." Subsequently, he rebranded the platform as "X" and introduced several changes.
One such change, implemented on June 12, was the concealment of 'likes' on users' public profiles. This move came a day after Musk expressed on the platform that it's "important to allow people to like posts without getting attacked for doing so!" However, this decision has been met with criticism from some users, including Mary Trump.
"I didn't think it was possible, but the latest 'improvement' to Twitter shows that @elonmusk is even stupider than I thought," she posted on the day the rollout started. Her post has since garnered over 245,500 views.
Her criticism was echoed by other users who expressed their dissatisfaction with the update. One user speculated, "He is hiding that he can possibly like a porn tweet, a racist tweet, or whatever it is that he doesn't want everyone to see. My take, he only has access to it and he will in the future use it against anyone who goes after and against him."
Another user suggested that Musk's decision was driven by vanity, comparing him to Donald Trump. "Elon couldn't stand criticism on Twitter, so he bought it to control it. Now, I'm betting he couldn't stand people pointing out the various disgusting and conspiratorial posts he likes, so he got rid of it," they said.
Despite the backlash, some users have expressed their support for the update. Oli London, a controversial English internet personality, responded to Musk's post about the news, saying, "Great new feature Elon. Will definitely help users feel more comfortable liking posts that they agree with." Social media personality Ed Krassenstein also praised the move, stating, "Good move. It's a step toward providing people with more privacy. If people want to share what they like, they can repost the content."
This controversy follows X's recent policy update allowing "consensually produced and distributed" adult content on the platform. This decision has sparked criticism on social media, with users expressing concerns about the potential negative impact on user experience.
"We believe that users should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. Sexual expression, visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression," X's page on "adult content" policies reads.
The platform has assured users that it will restrict such content behind a warning before users can access it. It has also asked those who regularly post adult content to adjust their media settings to allow for such warnings.
"Users under 18 or viewers who do not include a birth date on their profile cannot click to view marked content," the policy states.
While the debate over Musk's changes to X continues, it is clear that the platform is undergoing significant transformations. Whether these changes will ultimately benefit or harm the user experience remains to be seen. As always, Newsweek remains committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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