X has taken a new step to reduce the amount of spam posting in the app, this time by cutting off API access to apps that reward users for posting on X.
In a new announcement, X’s head of product Nikita Bier has said that X will be cutting off all apps that offer posting incentives, pointing specifically to the information finance (infoFi) community.
Within some of these projects, which are linked to the crypto community, rewards are offered in order to get more people posting about a project to the X crypto community. Group members can earn tokens and perks for amplifying project messages, which X claims has resulted in a heap of spam being posted to the app.
So now, it’s getting rid of it.
As per Bier:
“[InfoFi] has led to a tremendous amount of AI slop & reply spam on the platform. We have revoked API access from these apps, so your X experience should start improving soon (once the bots realize they’re not getting paid anymore).”
This type of spam posting has become a bigger focus for X, as it looks to refine its algorithm, and improve the user experience.
Over the past week, X’s head of product Nikita Bier has been locked in a battle, of sorts, with the crypto community in the app, with Bier looking to cut down on junk posts, which has impacted crypto bros specifically.
Because Bier’s main target has been users who regularly post “GM” (good morning), which is a staple communication within the crypto community. In an explainer last week, Bier noted that a rumor had circulated within the crypto community that replying to hundreds of posts each day would improve their reach, which had led to an influx of these posts.
But it’s not true. X’s algorithm doesn’t reward you for posting more replies, and in response, Bier sought to get rid of these posts entirely, by penalizing super-short posts in the algorithm. Crypto fans then turned on him, and Bier then noted the potential impact of crypto bros moving away from the app. Then he quickly reversed course on this change.
So now, crypto nerds can post “GM” once again without any reach penalties, which, seemingly, has calmed the collective once again.
But this latest change could upset the crypto apple cart once more.
Again, many crypto communities rely on X to amplify their projects, which then boosts their value. InfoFi groups use this as a key vector for promotion, and this change will no doubt impact that effort.
Which could make X a less welcoming platform for crypto bros overall, and lead to another potential revolt from the crypto community.
How big a deal would that be?
Well, “Business and Finance” is one of the most popular topic groups in the app.
So losing crypto discussion would have an impact, while it could also be a relevant consideration from the perspective of xAI, and how X fuels its AI projects.
That may also be a consideration in its effort to cut down on spam posts, because xAI needs to pay for data processing, on all X posts. Having fewer junk posts could reduce that cost, and make xAI more financially viable over time.
Either way, it seems like another contentious change, which could spark more unrest within the X user community.
