Twitter is no longer the same Twitter. Not only has the name, but a lot more has changed. Since October 2022, the transformation that began with billionaire Elon Musk‘s purchase of the platform has opened the doors to a new era in the digital world. This new media order, which surrounds us with like-minded people and condemns us all to our own echo chambers with its “private for you” innovation, may be more dangerous than we think.
Bird and its new master
The day Musk entered the Twitter building with a sink in his hand heralded a major transformation for social media. Described as an “extraordinary madman,” Musk began to impose his obsession with the letter X on the world. When the acquisition was completed, his first post was “The bird is free.” But for whom and for what purpose?
Musk’s definition of freedom of expression was as follows: “When I say freedom of speech, I only mean what is within the law. I am against censorship that goes beyond the law.” This approach changed the platform’s culture of restricting content, while simultaneously appeasing advertisers with the rhetoric that “we’re not going to turn it into a free-for-all hell.” This radical shift has profoundly affected the relationship between traditional media outlets and the platform.
Following Musk’s new policies and his controversial interpretation of free speech, established newspapers such as The Guardian started to withdraw from the platform. Media outlets stopped posting from their official accounts on X for reasons such as “offensive content,” “far-right conspiracy theories,” and “racism,” preferring to use their resources elsewhere. These sweepstakes undermined the platform’s claim to be a “public square” and paved the way for a new digital power game.
For Musk, Twitter should have been a “public square.” But each new regulation has disrupted this public space. The process that began with the reactivation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s and his supporters’ accounts paved the way for the platform to become one of the most effective propaganda tools of modern times.
Musk utilized not only his technical expertise but also his financial resources to enhance his political influence. He organized campaigns encouraging Republicans in key states to vote for Trump’s election, even offering a $1 million daily lottery until the election. This financial backing not only demonstrated how a business person’s strategic investments can translate into political power but also added a new dimension to the platform’s revenue model.
Blue tick economy
“If you don’t pay for something, you are the product” has become a cliche of the digital age. However, in X’s new model, both paying and being the product were the beginning of this new era. One of the first things Musk did when he acquired the platform was to reduce costs and develop a model to increase revenue. The most visible aspect of this model was the paid verification system, which had previously been free of charge, i.e., the “paid blue tick” application.
In this new scheme, those who did not pay were restricted in their mobility and exposed to more advertising. But ironically, those who did pay were not completely free of ads either. Even if you paid enough, we continued to be both products and consumers. This new fee model operating in X was part of Musk’s strategy as a successful businessperson to maximize profits from the platform, while at the same time, this increase in revenue gave him more room to maneuver in his other political and economic goals.
Personalized, viral content
This is where the “personalized” innovation we mentioned at the beginning of this article comes into play. This meaningful algorithm change in X allows users to see content that may be of interest or expected to be of interest to them, instead of seeing the posts of the people they follow.
Although this change was initially criticized by users as “I can’t see what my followers share,” people got used to this situation over time. As a result, users began to see more viral content. In this way, it is ensured that they spend a longer time on the platform.
At the same time, our age has become an age of images. For this reason, videos have become more prominent on X. In fact, an update was made on the site about this and now the video scrolling feature, like on Instagram, has been activated. These changes are the result of efforts to transform X into a platform where users can spend more time and consume more content.
Trapped in echo chambers
At this point, we are faced with the most concrete example in the digital age of the “echo chamber” concept defined by Vladimir Orlandi Key in 1966 and later developed by Sunstein.
An echo chamber is a closed communication environment where like-minded people constantly confirm their common views to each other. Just as our own voice hits the wall and comes back to us, we start to hear only our own opinions.
At X, we now see more and more posts from like-minded people. When our opinions diverge, the algorithm immediately detects it and moves us to another echo chamber. This digital categorization has started to shape our perceptions in the real world. The prominence of viral content and the use of artificial intelligence tools, such as Grok, further deepens this effect.
Grok: New propaganda tool
Another important update in X was the integration of the artificial intelligence Grok into the platform. Recently, a trend has started on X: “Is it true @Grok?” It’s as if Grok is the confirmation mechanism of the modern age.
What does Grok do? It analyzes the data circulating on X and generates an answer. However, it is noteworthy that these responses sometimes overlap with opinions written by others on the platform. So it is hard to say that it is completely artificial intelligence. Despite this, Grok is attempting to convey the impression that the answers provided by Grok are entirely generated by artificial intelligence.
We encounter this situation so often now that some users try to turn this situation into an opportunity with posts like “Look, even artificial intelligence thinks like me.” Especially troll accounts have turned Grok into a new weapon. Sometimes the questions are sarcastic, sometimes directive, sometimes downright provocative.
Some use this technology for fun, others for propaganda. This further strengthens the impact of echo chambers: An artificial intelligence that supports our views is presented as if it were an objective source of truth.
Interestingly, when we asked Grok about this, he replied: “I am Grok 3, created by xAI, and my goal is to provide answers that are as accurate, useful, and unbiased as possible. My working system does not involve accepting repeated statements in X as true. How the question is asked may influence my answer, but that does not mean I am propagandizing. Troll accounts can use me for their views, but that’s not something I have control over.”
So the point is this: no matter how neutral an AI claims to be, the intent of the human using it determines the direction of the discourse. This makes the walls of our echo chambers even thicker.
Power of algorithms
The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed how we can be subjected to political manipulation through social media. Now, the algorithms under Musk’s control have begun to test this power in Europe as they helped Trump win reelection. His open support for the AfD in the German elections shows how the power of digital media and the influence of techno leaders on societies has increased.
The millions of dollars Musk distributed to increase his political influence, combined with the power of algorithms, shows that social media is no longer just a communication platform but has become an arena where power is determined. This new era of digital manipulation, initiated by Cambridge Analytica, continues to grow stronger in Musk’s hands.
In a world created by an “extraordinary madman,” we have become increasingly susceptible to manipulation. As people living in the same country, city or district, we can perceive the same events 180 degrees differently.
Viral content, highlighting visual elements, artificial intelligence integration and personalized streams trap us all in digital echo chambers. Artificial intelligence tools like Grok are becoming new propaganda tools that reinforce these echo chambers under the guise of objective sources of information.
Years after the Cambridge Analytica affair, not enough measures have been taken against the political manipulation power of social media. Because, ironically, everyone seems content in their own echo chamber.
Please don’t say it won’t affect me. This new order in the digital squares continues to shape the way we all think.