Twitter users all had the same thought on their minds after billionaire Elon Musk announced the social media platform started rolling out view counts under tweets.
The rollout wasn't entirely unexpected because Musk said at the beginning of December Twitter would "start showing view count for all tweets." The new feature is similar to features on online platforms like YouTube that show how many times content has been viewed.
Musk announced Twitter users who "read tweets outnumber those who" simply reply, retweet, or like tweets, noting Twitter "will start showing view count for all tweets, just as view count is shown for all videos.
He added:
"The system is far more alive than it would seem."
You can see Musk's tweet below.
\u201c@Spooks Twitter will start showing view count for all tweets, just as view count is shown for all videos. The system is far more alive than it would seem.\u201d— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1669918739
Musk later noted tweets "are read 100 times more than they are liked."
\u201cTweets are read ~100 times more than they are liked\u201d— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1671760834
Critics of the change pointed out the move is likely designed to appeal to advertisers who have abandoned Twitter amid concerns about Musk's stewardship.
Musk repeatedly insisted Twitter needs to go private if it wants to become a platform for free speech, though he has already come under fire for silencing his critics and spreading misinformation.
But some major corporations have not been happy with changes or his behavior since acquiring the platform in October.
Several high-profile companies, including General Mills and Volkswagen, confirmed to CNN they would pause advertisements on Twitter due to concerns about Musk's ownership of the platform. Others, like Toyota and Interpublic Group, the parent company of Coca-Cola, also recommended their clients pause advertising on Twitter.
Musk has even gone so far as to attack companies that have distanced themselves from Twitter since he took the reins, at one point attacking Apple for deciding to stop advertising and accusing the company of threatening to “withhold” Twitter from the iOS App Store.
After previously declaring Twitter is on the verge of bankruptcy, Musk's move—as chaotic as all of his prior decisons—appears to exist solely to court advertisers who might otherwise only measure their success on the platform by the number of actual engagements.
And Twitter users could see right through it.
\u201cDesperate to show that site is "very much alive and not dying at all please believe me", man squeezes new UI element in before core interactions of site, breaking the muscle memory of millions of users at once.\u201d— slicedlime \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b (@slicedlime \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b) 1671797970
\u201cSo this whole change REALLY was out of insecurity for the apps numbers huh\u201d— augusto | n\u00e3o tankei o bostil (@augusto | n\u00e3o tankei o bostil) 1671764511
\u201c\u201cSee advertisers! Look at all of the views you\u2019re missing out on! Come oooooon! I know it looks kinda ugly but look! This tweet has millions of eyes, and millions of potential customers the neo-nazis I keep bringing back arent THAT bad pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplea-\u201c\u201d— Chongo (Professional Dingus)\ud83d\udc00 (@Chongo (Professional Dingus)\ud83d\udc00) 1671746503
\u201cdoes he not realize how stupid it is to apply a metric used for video to tweets?\n\nalso if anything it shows that twitter is kinda dead if only 10% of users actually engage with posts\u201d— Rox (At Her Classical Limit) \ud83c\udf7e\ud83c\udf38\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Rox (At Her Classical Limit) \ud83c\udf7e\ud83c\udf38\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1671835692
\u201cah, makes sense now. this is for advertisers to see that buying ads on here is a good idea (it\u2019s not)\u2014 we could already see impressions, you did this PUBLICLY bc you wanted them to see.\n\nthe platform and Tesla are dying at your hands and it\u2019s hilarious to watch. \ud83d\ude0a\u201d— CHIKA \ud83c\udf2a (@CHIKA \ud83c\udf2a) 1671763564
The decision to show view counts under tweets is largely redundant because Twitter Analytics—accessible via a user's personal dashboard—already shows users how their audience is responding to their content.
Ironically, the decision is likely to draw away those who would otherwise not feel discouraged by a lack of audience interaction were it not for the blaring statistic informing them—and others—of their failure to launch on the platform, hemorrhaging Twitter's userbase.
Many were clearly not happy with the change for that reason.
\u201cThe views under your tweets is the nastiest update I ever seen.\u201d— Ahmed/The Ears/Glorilla's Assistant \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf4 (@Ahmed/The Ears/Glorilla's Assistant \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf4) 1671746522
\u201cI really like this! It shows me how many people read/see my tweets but doesn\u2019t stop and interact. Thank you to the friends that do. \ud83e\udd70\u201d— Meghan Hennes (@Meghan Hennes) 1671757177
\u201cDo you realize how damaging this is to artists?\u201d— snowy forest \u2744\ufe0f (@snowy forest \u2744\ufe0f) 1671760193
\u201cvery off-putting feature!\u201d— spondor\ud83c\udf32\ud83e\udd8c (@spondor\ud83c\udf32\ud83e\udd8c) 1671763659
\u201cHe fundamentally misunderstands this website. \n\n\u201cMy tweet isn\u2019t getting many likes, but at least now I can see how many people saw it before scrolling right past it.\u201d\u201d— Tyrone (parody) (@Tyrone (parody)) 1671755861
Twitter's cratering fortunes have also hurt Musk's business interests and earlier this week Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren announced she had written a letter inquiring about the harm Musk has caused to Tesla's investors.
Earlier this week, Warren—who has spent her career focusing on consumer protection, equitable economic opportunity and the social safety net—noted Musk is still the chief executive of the automotive company despite recently acquiring the social media platform Twitter.
Warren suggested it is worth investigating whether Musk is "creating conflicts of interest" and "misappropriating company resources" because Tesla "is not Musk's private plaything."
Twitter has been mired in scandal since Musk acquired it in October and criticisms about Musk's content moderation policies and commitment to freedom of speech have raised questions about Musk's capacity to lead. His actions have caused Tesla to lose almost a third of its value since the Twitter acquisition was finalized.
Warren said in her letter to Tesla's board that the board has “failed to meet” its “legal duty” to ensure Musk is not treating the company as his “private plaything.” She pointed out that Musk’s deal to purchase the social media platform gave Tesla $1 billion in yearly interest payments to make, an amount that exceeds its annual cash flow.