Censorship, Bans, and Breaches: What Will Happen to X/Twitter and How to Be Prepared for Unpredictable? 

Progress or lost legacy?

The changes brought by Elon Musk to our beloved Twitter are tectonic. For starters, the platform’s brand went through a massive transformation: the name, URL address, and an iconic blue bird logo are just history now. Instead, we have an “X” name as well as a relatable sign and web address. 

So, what is the meaning behind “X”? According to Musk’s tweet (let us all agree that everybody still calls X posts tweets), the sign refers to “the unique quirks that make us all human”. Difficult to argue with that, and no less difficult to agree you fully understand what the richest man on the planet meant to say. 

But such an extravagant rebranding looks like bells and whistles that introduce much greater changes. Elon Musk stated he intends to turn “X” into a superapp like Chinese WeChat where you can find everything: marketplace, payments, AI-chatbot, you name it. 

The visionary’s intentions to leave no stone unturned but dramatically transform a former Twitter into something totally different are surely impressive. However, the core audience of the platform seemed to perceive these changes as a clumsy attempt to put a cat among the pigeons: devoted Twitter users appear to feel confused, if not stressed with becoming X users. 

According to Tracksuit research, 31% of users have a negative attitude towards the changes and 22% dislike the recent updates but intend to keep using the platform. Overall, we see a half of former Twitter users aren’t happy with such brand revamp. 

At the same time, resistance to change is one of the most human traits you can imagine. It’s no wonder that the above-mentioned Twitter rebranding got a lot of heat. But were all these changes really necessary and did they bring a breath of fresh air to this social network? 

Even though the rebranding decisions may look ill-advised, the platform is still in a transitional state, so judging the whole house by the lawn around it is definitely subjective. Did the rebranding kill positive vibes and associations with a blue bird? Yes, it did. But also moved positive emotions and associations into a category of pleasant memories and warm nostalgia. 

Overall, an attempt to start everything from a clean slate and revolutionize Twitter into X didn’t go well in all its aspects. But since we’re writing this article, life goes on within “X”, and many more exciting things will happen. We are aware that the last statement sounds like a calming mantra, while many Twitter users were shocked with the platform’s overhaul coming out of the blue bird. 

Luckily enough, the stress and outrage were followed by…quirky memes and light irony about everything happening around the social network’s rebranding. These memes can be easily called an independent art discipline, so we are not in a position to let you miss these masterpieces!

Laughter as a defense mechanism

When the changes of Twitter rebranding became an inevitable fact, the users had nothing left but to make fun of the situation. Laughter is a reliable defense mechanism and it worked perfectly well in this case. 

Just take a look at these posts and memes: 

Sure, changes are always disruptive, that’s the reason why they make you feel uncomfortable. But on the bright side, with Musk owning the platform, you finally got a ready-to-eat pasta. Grab your fork and enjoy! 

However, some observations like the next one are very on-point: 

And of course, it was in the Simpsons: 

Since Musk announced that X is going to be a super-app, why on Earth gaming can’t be a part of this “everything social media platform”? 

That’s just a little drop in the ocean of memes posted by confused yet sarcastic users. But when the dust of the fun settles, several serious tendencies become visible. Let’s pin them down. 

Jokes aside…

All the buzz around Twitter rebranding had been frustrating, then there was fun, but how exactly did these changes determine the future of this social media site? 

Let’s start from the positive: the platform is reported to grow in value. Before the rebranding, Twitter’s value was around $3.2 bln, and in just one year its value spiked up to $4 bln. 

Getting back to the Tracksuit research survey, the rebranding appeared to make a positive impact on the image of X/Twitter as an innovative platform. Actually, 50% of users tend to agree with this statement. Just for a little remark, TikTok is reported to gain 52% of user support in a similar study! 

Notwithstanding all these positives, we deliberately talked about them in the first place, as the discussion of problems and uncertainties is much longer. Again, according to the Tracksuit study, Twitter rebranding appears to gain positive traction only in one aspect. Just take a look at the infographics below: 

As you can see, X gains only 1% in user preference in comparison to Twitter. While these criteria may look like irrelevant and artificial measures, there are real, hands-on problems behind Twitter’s transformation into X. We are heading towards the discussion of the main flames of uncertainty around the platform’s future, keep on reading! 

X that doesn’t fit any equation 

As soon as Twitter has become X, the formula of a popular and prosperous social networking platform failed to work the way it used to. The X appears not to fit many important equations because of the following issues: 

Content moderation problems

With Musk’s acquisition of the company, X started facing serious content moderation issues. Due to major layoffs inside the company and relatable content moderation decisions, the X users complained about a significant increase in encountering inappropriate materials, fake news, and hate speech that had been previously banned within the site. 

As a consequence, more than half of top-1000 X advertisers stopped promoting brands on the platform because of having very little certainty about the context their advertising content may appear. Even though X has managed to increase its revenue after transformation, such a strike can have a severe long-term impact on the company’s financial health. 

Hate speech distribution increase 

Following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, several organizations — including the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), the Anti-Defamation League, and a research group at Tufts University — observed an increase in hateful content on the platform. The CCDH reported that the frequency of anti-Black slurs tripled compared to pre-acquisition levels, while homophobic and transphobic slurs rose by 52% and 62%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) found that, between June 2022 and February 2023, antisemitic tweets on Twitter doubled, even as removals of such content also grew. Additionally, the number of Islamic State–affiliated accounts reportedly climbed by 70% during that same timeframe.

In an analysis of over one million tweets posted since 2022, the CCDH noted a 119% increase in posts framing LGBT people as “groomers” starting in October 2022. Advertising content often appeared alongside what many deemed anti-LGBT rhetoric. The study specifically highlighted five prominent accounts — Libs of TikTok, Christopher Rufo, Tim Pool, and James Lindsay — as central to this uptick in anti-LGBT discourse.

Fake news and russian propaganda 

Fake news, disinformation, and propaganda are twin sisters of hate speech, so it’s no wonder X has become an ideal honeypot for such misleading and harmful content. 

Back in 2018, Twitter voluntarily signed under the European Union Code of Practice on disinformation. However, with Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform, the company withdrew from the code. 

An anti-disinformation startup called TrustLab has conducted research focused on how X/Twitter’s commitment to fight against fake news and propaganda has shifted since the code withdrawal. First, and foremost, the study results indicated a “large-scale Russian disinformation campaign since the invasion of Ukraine”, so X has become a primary platform where the disinformation attack took place. 

Legal cases involving the company 

Despite all accusations, X decided to fight back. After the report by Media Matters stating that it found advertisements by IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast’s Xfinity placed alongside posts touting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party, X initiated a lawsuit against the organization. Even though Media Matters attempted to request the case dismissal, the court proceedings aren’t over, so X keeps having an upper hand in this case. 

Although, another attempt to defend X’s good name, wasn’t that successful. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) conducted research that also indicated an increase in hate speech after the platform’s purchase by Elon Musk. The platform sued CCDH for “unlawful access of data”. To Musk’s surprise, the case was dismissed by the US judge who said “it was “evident” Mr. Musk’s X Corp did not like criticism.” The company planned to appeal the decision, but such a fierce confrontation with an anti-hate speech groups doesn’t seem to really protect the social network’s brand and its good name. In fact, it proves the opposite: the platform has issues it doesn’t want to officially accept and confirm.  

Data breaches and common security vulnerabilities

Data security is another aspect X has several problems with. Let’s take a brief look at these issues: 

• Privacy issues. It’s a critical concern, since X collects a lot of user data for targeted advertising. Tweets, likes, browsing patterns, geotags, to name a few help to create a more detailed user profile to direct targeted ads. Even private messages aren’t really private as X employees and third parties still can access them upon request. For now, it’s unclear whether any internal changes regarding data privacy and protection took place. 
• Security breaches. X has suffered a number of high-profile cyber attacks that leaked users’ personal data. One of the largest cases involves a leak of 200 million accounts because of a deep security hole in the platform’s application programming interface — an important component needed for data exchange. Another incident includes the exposure of over 2.6 billion records via third-party vulnerabilities. It is hard to ignore the fact that not only the platform itself but its external partners and infrastructures appear to be vulnerable, which significantly increases risks for further data breaches.

• Spam and bots. The other longstanding problem of X is spam, phishing, and automated bots used for spreading malicious content, fake news, and hate speech. Even though the platform has adopted AI-powered tools for bot activity detection, bots are still active X “users”. 
• Cyberbullying. Once X is facing problems with content moderation and the spread of hate speech, it’s obvious that this social network creates an environment for abuse, harassment, and online bullying, especially geared towards marginalized groups. X has a relatable policy to fight bullying and harassment within the platform, but the inconsistency of their enforcement rules and Musk’s decision to lay off 1000 employees from a safety team prevent the policy from an effective combat against discriminatory behaviors. 

Bans in countries across the world 

Taking into account all the issues we’ve just covered, multiple countries decided to ban access to X. The list includes China, Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Pakistan, Venezuela, and Brazil. Beyond a doubt, several states in this list are dictatorships that ban the platform for posing stronger censorship over their societies. But other countries decided against banning X because of concerns related to misinformation, fake news, hate speech, and poor moderation, so advertisers’ decision to leave the platform is worsened by losing users in multiple countries across the globe. 

Looking at an old good Twitter turning into an utter pandemonium naturally raises a question: Do we need this social media after all? Of course we all do. It’s still a place where you can get the freshest news, follow favorite influencers and celebrities, and just have a laugh with questionably funny memes. But how to keep using X without fear of being hit with the outcomes of its transformation? Bear with us, as we’re going to discuss how to protect yourself while surfing X! 

How to stay safe and sane in this frenzy? 

Once X has become a place where security breaches, phishing attack, stalking, or cyberbullying is likely to happen, your online security and Internet privacy are at risk. What do these risks mean for you? 

First of all, leaking your personal information because of a data breach, phishing attempt, or malware can lead to consequences in real life. By having your personal information, stalkers can impersonate you on X as well as other social media, steal your money by accessing your bank accounts, or start stalking you. 

Second, you’re likely to infect your device with malware that will spy on you, harm your device, or slow down its performance because it helps to initiate a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on a large target. 

And since X collects data about your preferences and behaviors on the platform, you’re likely to get bombarded with annoying ads and spam that can imply their own risks too. Overall, staying protected and anonymous online is a boon you definitely would like to have. 

And such a boon is closer than you might think. Without any divine intervention, a virtual private network (VPN) can guarantee you robust security online. A VPN app passes all your Internet traffic through a separate “tunnel” where your data gets encrypted and goes to a remote server. As a result, nobody can track what you’re doing online, while you have a hidden IP address so that you won’t reveal your real whereabouts. 

But at the same time, we have to say that free VPN apps aren’t entirely safe. They lack sufficient encryption standards and sell your personal information to third parties, which actually defeats the whole purpose of VPN! Instead, consider trying VeePN — a premium VPN service that offers such security features and benefits as:

• Top-tier encryption. VeePN uses AES 256-bit encryption which is considered the top-industry protocol. This encryption method ensures that nobody can read your personal information even if they manage to intercept your Internet traffic. 
• Vast network of servers. With 2,500 servers in 89 locations, VeePN guarantees stable and high-speed connection, so you won’t notice you’re using any VPN at all.  
• Alternative ID. It is a separate tool that lets you create an alternative persona for signing up on X and other social networks or sites without sharing your real personal information. In such a way, you’ll browse the web with comfort and complete anonymity. 
• Device compatibility. VeePN is compatible with all major platforms and operating systems, while you can use one subscription to protect up to 10 devices simultaneously. 

Try VeePN now to ensure you are safe when you surf the X. The platform keeps changing, and more updates are likely to come in the forthcoming future. Let’s discuss what other changes are likely to happen.

Elon’s next move?

We hope it won’t be one made during the speech at Trump’s inauguration, and we’ll see a lot of innovative and creative changes that turn X into an honored disciple of Twitter. Returning to Musk’s idea of “everything superapp” we can say that X has in store the following updates: 

• A more aggressive approach to subscriptions. The platform intends to expand its subscription system to make the difference between free and paid users visible and dramatic. The price increase has also taken place to make the entire platform actually earn additional revenue but provide subscribers with unique content and features.  
• Payments launch. Integration with cryptocurrency X Money is also on the horizon. This integration will enable peer-to-peer payment feature on the platform for giving users more freedom of action and open opportunities for commerce within the network.  
• Big brands return to advertise themselves. Several big brands announced their return to X, which can be a green light for the rest of the top-selling companies to come back. While it’s still unclear how content moderation and other policies have been updated to create favorable environments for advertising, we can see that brands still consider X a reliable channel for distributing their advertising materials. 
• Platform’s algorithms major fixes. Elon Musk announced a major fix of X algorithms to fight inappropriate content and fake news spreading across the platform. We tend not to connect this plan with brands returning to the platform, so no deep insights here. Time will tell.  
• Security issues seem to keep being a problem. Even though brands are coming back and the algorithms will undergo serious tweaks, there is a complete radio silence about the improvement of security measures both for users and internal data of X. Keeping the changes a secret doesn’t have any purpose as hackers keep attempting to attack the network from time to time, while absence of any security updates is alarming. 

So, what do we see stepping on the unexplored land of X? A lot of changes seemingly attempting to make X an innovative one-of-its-kind social network. But when we focus our sight on details, we can observe a rise of hate speech and fake news, tons of inappropriate content, imperfect data security, and obscure design meaning everything and nothing at the same time. 

And we’ll still make a step on the breeding grounds of shaky online security. But to make such a step with confidence for your privacy and data safety, get VeePN today and stay protected whenever you go online. X will last, and your security can too, if you have VeePN covering your back. 

Written by VeePN Research Lab VeePN Research Lab is dedicated to provide you latest posts about internet security and privacy.

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