Elon Musk is backing Trump. Is Musk's Twitter backing Trump, too?

• It judge seems for illustration Twitter is much apt to show contented from Republican aliases right-wing accounts.
• That's nan conclusion from 2 caller reports successful The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
• Is this because Twitter users want this? Or because Trump protagonist Elon Musk wants them to spot it?

Is X, nan work galore of america still telephone Twitter, much apt to show users governmental posts from Republicans, aliases right-leaning accounts?

Yes. Probably.

That's nan conclusion from 2 different heavy dives published successful The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal connected Tuesday.

Next question: Is Twitter doing this intentionally, astatine nan behest of proprietor Elon Musk?

That 1 is harder to answer.

Both questions matter, obviously, because we're a week distant from nan US statesmanlike election. And while Twitter has go a financial disaster nether Musk's ownership, it still remains an important news hub for galore millions of people.

Meanwhile, Musk, who utilized to support Democrats, has thrown himself wholly down Donald Trump's campaign. He says "Democracy is over" if Trump loses.

Neither nan Journal nor nan Post want to tie a nonstop statement betwixt Musk's authorities and Twitter's operations. But location are surely immoderate suggestions of dotted lines. I've asked Twitter for comment.

The details: Both papers utilized package to analyse what users spot connected Twitter. The Post looked astatine a year-plus of tweets from apical legislature accounts; nan Journal created 14 brand-new Twitter accounts, controlled by bots and dispersed passim nan US.

The Post's conclusion: Tweets from legislature accounts crossed nan spectrum are getting little attraction than they did a twelvemonth ago. But Republican tweets are overmuch much apt to spell viral than Democrats.

The Journal's findings don't precisely sync pinch nan Post. It finds that its theoretical caller users, who told Twitter they are not willing successful politics, saw their feeds clogged pinch governmental contented anyway. And while it says Kamala Harris' run was nan most-seen account, nan level skewed correct overall: "Ten of nan different apical 14 most-seen leaned right, including Trump's, and overall, pro-Trump contented appeared astir doubly arsenic often arsenic pro-Harris material."

What accounts for nan right-leaning shift? Neither insubstantial wants to opportunity definitively. But they some hover astir 2 possibilities, which aren't mutually exclusive:

Theory 1: Twitter is showing users what users want to see.

That's the statement Musk makes himself. And location is decent logic down it. For starters, moreover earlier Musk bought Twitter, its ain researchers recovered that nan "political correct enjoys higher amplification compared to nan governmental left" connected nan platform.

And it's wholly plausible that immoderate left-leaning users person near nan level during Musk's ownership, successful portion because he reinstated accounts from right-leaning users, including Trump himself. Conservatives whitethorn besides beryllium flocking to it for nan aforesaid reason.

And those users whitethorn beryllium much apt to prosecute pinch right-leaning content, prompting nan site's algorithm to show them much of it — nan aforesaid measurement all societal media sites mostly activity pinch celebrated content.

Theory 2: Twitter is showing users what Musk wants them to see.

This is simply a conception that immoderate existent and erstwhile Twitter users believe, though there's nary nonstop impervious that it's nan case. But location is plentifulness of precedent for it, since Musk has many times moved nan level according to his whims successful nan past.

Most famously, Musk ordered engineers to item his ain tweets aft nan 2023 Super Bowl, arsenic Platformer's Zoe Schiffer has reported.

Musk has besides utilized nan tract to big interviews pinch governmental figures he's willing in, including a buggy chat pinch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis successful 2023, and one pinch Trump this summer.

The Post besides reports that "More recently, Musk complained that a fraction of users saw his livestreams," and compelled his engineers to beforehand those chats connected nan site."