VIEWS ON X

My opinion of X as a social media platform.

Firstly let's not pretend it is a free speech platform, that delusion is demonstrably false on so many levels even its own inbuilt AI can't deny it.

Ask Grok.
https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1939848121061974160

X forces people to be blunt, with character limits alone there is cause for understanding that it funnels people who would like to add nuance and or broad context to something written. 

It is an enforced protocol, and it stifles conversation for anyone who doesn't pay.

This is clear in many ways but none more than direct redress, which is why those who don't have a verification blue tick lose advantage in a debate and context in any attempt at conversation.

Disadvantage how ? You can't add to community notes, except to rate them when made by others.

This impedes the ability to point out even the blindingly obvious.

Oh and if you add a link that wont work, Boss man himself said he doesn't want any links to outside sources and actively ensures they are not promoted.

Plus the arbitrary unsanctioned algorithmic reach suppression based on nonsense like "key words" or worse, without any real time appeal process.

My mate copped a visibility limitation and a permanent mark on his account for typing quote "That's a cracker mate".

He was complimenting me on a post I made, and even as a paid subscriber to his channel he was restricted and shadowed with a permanent strike for no sound reason.

It is also increasingly clear there is a policy of restricting views to any posts with an external link, This became noticeable to me early in 2025, I hadn't considered how to write about its effects, except a brief note to look into it, then on the 28th April Tom MacDonald posted a video explaining, on X about the X policy.

it went as follows VVVVV

https://x.com/IAMTOMMACDONALD/status/1916624783623823372

Quote Tom. M.

"Ok X I'm tryin this, apparently the algorithm has changed, & it's got a lot of people totally F'd up, & honestly i've noticed it too, & apparently posting external links makes your reach even worse which is a huge problem for me,because I just dropped a brand new album and I can't tell people where to find it, so I'm gonna show you this (web address) because I have over 500,000 followers here and less than 1% of them know where to find my new album".

 End quote.

Now imagine how it feels for an obscure blogger or youtuber, even Mr Beast is doing specific X videos just to remind people he is still on youtube because his external linked video posts are bombing. 

Even paying for top tier reach limits external links. 

Which is why this will not be read by many people if any. 

X is not the town hall, the city square or even a soap box an a random corner, It is the subway walls, the tenement halls and the back of a public toilet cubicle with a busted lock and no paper.

It deserves to be treated as such. 

Look at what a new user will face while trying to navigate the format itself.

There is the engagement farmers, repetition and of course the very backbone of all social media, especially X, Rage Bait.

This deserves its own full chapter, but deep down anyone who has read this far knows it is the truth, nothing garners engagement and fuels emotionally charged responses than rage bait.

We have all seen one person repeatedly post disingenuous "questions" deliberately designed to illicit extreme responses, for example; - Should we change the date of Australia Day ?

Clearly most people are incapable of scrolling by, they have to give an answer either way.

And you can bet the poster will post the same or similar every time the issue is raised, in full expectation of a very similar response year after year. 

Same person posts 50 times a day, on whatever the topic of the day is, eventually they just type more and more outlandish BS in an ever increasing desperation to get more engagement, because 25,000 followers is never enough.

When the baited hook questions resort to the pineapple on pizza ? Posts, you know you're 5 minutes from the breakdown hot take about how radical extremism is cool, go Ye!

These fully paid accounts with 50k followers even though they have a fake name and avatar expect to be taken seriously ? 

I will spare you examples as I am sure you've seen them, But 123 Fake street with an image of a dragon will have the balls to re-post you to their audience for the purpose of mockery while pretending to have some sort of moral high ground every time.

Honestly, If i had a flying fuck I wouldn't give it, and on a personal note when accused of anything by these idiots it just too easy for anyone to see that any problem they have is a them problem, Trying to drag me into it wont work at all.

I have about 150 followers on X and I have removed 15 Elons. 

If you have 15,000 by that math you have more Elon's following you than I have followers in total. 

Make no mistake the self appointed lords known only to themselves as "content creators" who are not genuine = Most, are the biggest frauds too, it wont take long to find open plagiarism, your own passing comment will be noticed eventually, but if you didn't pay you wont be acknowledged at all. 

Blue ticks prey on no ticks, they read "The sky is turning yellow," and then write "The atmosphere is changing to a yellowish hue."

which statement is rewarded with lots of little oxytocin coloured hearts?

If you don't believe you're paying for this drug then try and stop it, I triple dog dare you.

Prove it, ditch the tick, see how long your engagement high lasts. 

Then by all means when the withdrawals kick in feel free to resume paying for those over priced dopamine hits, just don't shoot the messenger for explaining how your dealer operates his business.

A business based on competition for your attention.

The very antithesis of a healthy relationship of any kind, X hinders, blocks, trolls, and pays to disrupt good and fair communication or discourse. 

At the very least it does not in any way reward civil discussion or productively encourage positive human to human interactions.

Every user past and present knows that to be self evident, perhaps even before Elon.

I wouldn't know that.

X is also IMO in-cell training ground zero. There goes any chance of publicity for this publication.

With all that it is the second quickest platform to become secular within hidden/private groups and secret chambers full of echo's fighting the stupid free thinking loner account that doesn't have an army of bored losers ready to report anything they disagree with, or change their profile to add the latest flag.

Is there anything more amusing than the don't be a sheep, join our mob of anti sheep and follow us consumers pretending to lead the way to prosperity at 2 blocks a day.

The shear amount of "accounts" with fake names, random images and still a blue tick removes the entire point I joined in the first place, They expect to be treated seriously and then admit if they used their real name there would be repercussions for posting the things they post, so they're just blatantly trying to avoid any repercussions by their own admission. 

I Jayman Wayne Newell refuse to hide, I will be held accountable.

Case in point --- Gorklon rust ---  Even Elon got in so deep he changed his profile to troll mode.

Multiple times since I joined.

Does any X user remember Kekious Maximus ?

Oh wait he is back...Again.

It's almost like my eX, How many ALT's does a fucking GAMEr need ? 

Changed last name 4 times from birth that I know of and still doesn't use any of them on SM accounts.

The capital of cowards with more closet skeletons than any other online in 2025.

No matter how Gorklon tries to explain his way through it, the name change and posting is the definition of trolling in any modern dictionary.

By its very nature he both encourages and sets precedent for such behaviour on X, Trolling on X is by far more prevalent than any news, in fact half the premise is fake, satirical or deception, while noteworthy events can be found, they're more often exaggerated, wrong, or premature speculation later to be more "news" when proven as such or corrected.

Let's be clear, if people are getting all their news from X as maximus suggests, that only means they are tunnel visioned, and it in no way speaks to the content of said news at all.

Good/bad, relevant/irrelevant, breaking/ old, accurate/mis/disinformation, honest/satirical, fair/biased or even AI generated content, There is not one person with their real name to it, who would dare claim getting all of the above, and consuming it from X is a net positive outcome for the truth in human discourse or the flow of information between real human beings. 

If you do not look outside X for information, you are part of the problem, in fact according to Gorklons own boasting, you are now a cog in the new MAINSTREAM MEDIA NARRATIVE.

*Note his recommended friends ?

Remember when people said Elon over paid for Twitter to quote "SAVE FREE SPEECH"?

How does that resonate with you as a user today ? 

Rhetorical of course, and please don't claim to be a "free thinker" who "doesn't give a fuck what people think of you" if you paid for that tick and still have outstanding debts.

Just a question between free thinkers but how are you able to think so freely while worried about finding money for the credit card or mortgage repayment ? 

I mean you have to register your car on X date and why are you turning off the heater or complaining about a surcharge or even counting the tax rate on your cigarettes or fuel ? 

If you're free to think and not busy working under orders from a boss or customers then shouldn't your attorney do all that for you while you ponder the philosophical questions of your own choosing like I am doing now ?

I wonder how many purchased a tick before Grok became available to all, as if that wasn't an obvious 'you can't have it' marketing ploy lasting less than 3 months, of course an OPEN AI can't exist if not open to all, AI was never supposed to get better with only paid up contributers, it needs input to grow, I can't imagine ever paying to help it in any form.

It is clear Captain Gorklon Maximus King Space Cadet Lord of the Trolls wants his money back, and whose pockets he intends to siphon it from, let's just say they are not what any dictionary defines as free thinking, able to speak freely or 'saved' from anything. 

For terms of reference one only needs to look to the owner of X, In fact the arbitrator and chief, owner and top decision maker of the platform, Elon Musk.

Specifically how or in what way he uses the platform should be the default setting for all users.

Clearly it is not, but in my humble opinion YOU should use X exactly like Elon Musk does in the 5 most important ways.

1- He does not pay, granted he does not suffer endless dodgey advertising, bots and reach limitations, but he gets paid from subjecting you to it, He does not pay. DO NOT PAY.

2- Self promotion, I mean shameless self promotion to the point of being sickening like the old evangelical TV ads or constant vacuum cleaner sales with a free set of steak knives from the 80/90's, just blatant mind altering repetition of buy shit you don't want or need for any reason, one thing is for sure you will never need to interact with like or follow Elon to see his posts.

3 - The Ego boosting, Look what I did to appeal to my demographic, I am so cool, Follow me narcissistic ploy to gain social favour, ironically often used to "call out" a person who is virtue signaling, while blinkered to their own attempted appeal to appear virtuous. 

Ego is not a dirty word, but stroke it too hard and and you'll have to pay for the privilege or get locked out of the big ego club echo chambers that permeate the "back channels".

4 - Shit posting and memes, This is actually number 2 for Elon as far as I can figure, He will literally tell people to post more positive things (for his profits) then in the next post he is virtue signalling by calling out a person for doing exactly what he does, constantly.

This is immediately followed by "Go fuck yourself", They're not even my words, or yours, In some instances you can't even quote Elon on X, Because anyone who repeats his own words can be censored/shadowed or banned.

Lastly as the occupier in chief himself says repeatedly - The most entertaining outcome is the most likely! 

This X tool is not to be treated with care, nor looked to for positive outcomes at all, only mildly entertaining rubbish if you're into that kind of thing.

5 - TROLL OL OL OL OL...

He is not kidding, he really is the epitome of the concept, He accused Trump of a pedophile connection because he was upset, I dare you to try that about someone and expect no repercussions or an apology to overturn that liable or defamation case.

Troll softly, Meme it, call out cunts like Elon with their own rhetoric, plaster links on every post, take nothing seriously, stop pretending there is any treasure to be found, and most importantly don't buy any of the 100% bullshit that exists in fore mentioned rabbit warrens.

In conclusion.

Treat X like Elon does, Speak your mind, Ignore 99.99% of responses, Shit talk, toot your horn, meme whoever you do or don't like, misdirect, bullshit, play pretend, promote your business or a friends with a lot of external links, never for a second take any of it seriously and don't spend a fucking cent on anything. Ever.

You wont get away with it like Elon, least of all FREE speech, and there is a metric shit ton of ads but it is better for your soul to remember every profile is an addicted reflection of a once human being now willingly entered into peonage for the dopamine rush of a few digital heart emogies.

If you can't live without it, it's a bad habit.

No one needs X, The owner needs you.

 © Jayman.W.Newell