X (social network)

X, formerly known as Twitter, is an American microblogging and social networking service based in Bastrop, Texas. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, images, and videos, and can also like other users' content. The platform offers many features, including direct messaging, video and audio calling, and a social audio feature called X Spaces.

X was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams, and launched that July. It grew quickly, reaching over 100 million users by 2012. Originally, posts were limited to 140 characters, but this was later increased to 280 characters and then removed for subscribed accounts in 2023.

The platform is now owned by xAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, following several changes in ownership. Linda Yaccarino served as CEO until July 2025, and in February 2026, xAI was acquired by SpaceX. Despite its popularity, the platform has faced criticism for issues such as the spread of disinformation and hate speech.

History

Main article: History of Twitter

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of X (social network).

In 2006, Jack Dorsey came up with the idea of using text messages to share quick updates with a small group. The early version of the service was called Twttr. Later, the team bought the name Twitter and launched it to the public in July 2006.

Twitter grew quickly, especially after the 2007 South by Southwest conference, where many people started using it. By 2010, millions of people were sending tweets every day. Over the years, Twitter added new features like photos, videos, and ways for people to subscribe to creators. In 2021, Twitter introduced new designs and features, and in 2022, it was acquired by Elon Musk.

Appearance and features

Posts on this social network, often called "tweets," are usually visible to everyone but can be limited to just the people who follow you. Users can post from the website, apps, or text messages. People can follow others and see their posts, and they can share others' posts with their own followers. Users can also add comments to posts they like.

Users can update their profiles using phones and can add words or symbols called "hashtags" to group posts together. The site also lets users add pictures, videos, and live streams. There are special features for talking with groups of people and for sharing news and trends. The site has mobile apps and offers special features for people who pay for a subscription.

Usage

Main article: Twitter usage

People use X, which used to be called Twitter, in many ways. The exact number of people using it each day changes often, since the company doesn't always share these numbers. In February 2009, one report said it was the third most popular social network. By April 2017, it was listed as the tenth most popular. By March 2023, there were about 500 million people using it each month, growing to 600 million by May 2024.

Demographics

See also: Black Twitter

Back in 2009, Twitter was mostly used by older adults who hadn't used many other social sites before. Only about 11% of users were between 12 and 17 years old. Women made up a bit more of the users than men. Most users were under 35, and many were Caucasian, though there were also higher numbers of African American and Hispanic users compared to other internet sites at the time.

Twitter kept growing. By September 2011, it had 100 million users each month, and by early 2019, over 330 million. In 2013, more than 100 million people used Twitter every day, and about 500 million messages, called tweets, were sent each day. A study in 2016 found that 24% of all adult internet users in the U.S. used Twitter. It was especially popular with younger people aged 18 to 29. By 2019, the typical Twitter user in the U.S. was 40 years old, and just 10% of the most active users did most of the talking.

Content

Researchers in San Antonio looked at 2,000 messages from August 2009 and sorted them into six groups. Most messages, 40%, were just sharing thoughts, while 38% were chatting with others. Nine percent shared useful information, 6% were about showing off, and 4% each were spam or news.

Levels of use and class action lawsuit

Research in April 2014 showed that about 44% of accounts on Twitter had never sent a message. Around 22% of Americans said they used Twitter in 2019. In 2009, many people tried Twitter but stopped after a month, so only about 10% of all internet users kept using it regularly. In 2016, some shareholders sued Twitter, saying the company had given a false picture of how many people were really using it. In September 2021, Twitter agreed to pay $809.5 million to end this lawsuit.

Decline on mobile devices

As of 2026^[update], fewer people have been using X on phones and tablets. Meanwhile, a rival network called Threads has been getting more users on mobile devices. By January 2026, Threads had as many mobile users as X. However, X still has more users on computers than on mobile devices.

Branding

Before it became X, Twitter was known by its bird logo, called the Twitter Bird. The original logo from 2006 just said "Twitter" and showed a bird. Over the years, the bird logo changed a few times, becoming simpler each time. In July 2023, the service was renamed to X. The new logo looks like the letter "X" in a special bold style. Some people liked the old bird logo better, but the company decided to make this big change.

Finances

Revenue sources

In 2010, the social network began offering paid ads for companies. These ads, called "promoted tweets," appeared in search results, similar to ads on other websites. Users' photos could also bring in money for the company. By 2011, the site made around $139.5 million from ads.

Later, small businesses could buy ads too. In 2012, these ads were made available to more users, and in 2013, all U.S. users could use them. In 2016, a new feature let people earn rewards by tweeting about brands.

Advertising bans

In 2017, the site stopped certain Russian media from advertising after reports about interference in elections. In 2019, it stopped all political ads because of false claims in some ads. This changed in 2023, but with strict rules against false information.

In 2022, the site banned ads that spread false information about climate change.

Coerced advertising

In 2025, reports said some companies agreed to advertise after facing legal threats from the site's leaders.

Fines

The site has been fined for not following rules. In 2022, it was fined $150 million for using users' contact details for ads. In 2025, it was fined €120 million by European authorities for not following certain laws. Shortly after, the site stopped the European Commission from advertising.

Technology

X uses many different tools and programs to work. In the early days, it used a programming language called Ruby and stored messages in databases called MySQL. Later, X switched to using Scala, which helped it handle many more messages quickly.

X also offers ways for other programs to connect with it, which helps developers build new features and apps. Over time, X changed some rules for developers, which made it harder for some to keep their tools working.

In 2023, X shared some of its inner workings with the public, aiming to be more open. The way X shows information to users has changed several times, trying to make it easier to read and use on different devices.

X has also faced security problems, like times when famous people's accounts were used to send unwanted messages. X works to keep user information safe and has added steps to prevent unauthorized access.

When X sometimes stops working, users see a message asking them to try again later.

User accounts

Verified accounts

Main article: Blue check

In 2009, Twitter started a program for "Verified Accounts" after some people made fake accounts. A blue check shows that Twitter talked to the person or group and they approved it. In 2016, Twitter said anyone could apply to get verified if they were famous enough.

In 2022, after a new leader took over, verification became part of a paid service. Some special accounts, like government ones, still got a different check.

Privacy

People can share public messages or private messages called "direct messages". You can see who follows you and who you follow, but you can make your account "protected" to keep this private. Twitter collects information about users and may share it with others as stated in their rules. Ads can target users based on what they share.

Harassment

In 2013, Twitter added a way to report bad behavior after some people got nasty messages. In 2014, they made new rules to block and report abuse. In 2016, they started a group to help keep the site safe. In 2020, they banned many accounts linked to a harmful group and later added a "Safety Mode" to stop unwanted messages.

Suspect and contested accounts

Twitter has dealt with accounts used for harmful purposes. In 2016, they were sued for allowing a group to use the site, but the case was dismissed. They have banned many accounts for promoting harmful ideas and have worked to stop misinformation from countries trying to influence others.

Malicious and fake accounts

Twitter has closed many fake accounts used to spread false information or influence elections. In 2017, they closed accounts from Iran, and in 2019, they found accounts from Saudi Arabia. They continue to work on identifying and removing these accounts.

Bot accounts

Main article: Bots on X

Bots are computer programs that can post messages automatically. Some bots are helpful, but others can spread false information or make it seem like more people support something than really do. Twitter has many fake accounts, but they work to find and remove them.

Society

Usage

Twitter has been used for many different purposes across many industries. For example, it helped organize protests like the protests over the 2009 Moldovan election, the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, and the 2011 Occupy movement in the United States.

People also used Twitter to show support or protest against certain events or laws, such as during the 2010 Twitter joke trial, where users showed their support for someone who made a joke online.

Governments

Documents shared by Edward Snowden in 2014 showed that the United Kingdom had special tools to monitor and post messages on Twitter.

During the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, Twitter removed many fake accounts that were trying to spread false information and were linked to the Chinese government.

In June 2020, Twitter removed over 7,000 fake accounts from Turkey that were pretending to support the country’s president. Turkey blocked Twitter at times to stop people from sharing certain messages.

In May 2021, Twitter labeled a tweet from a spokesman of India’s ruling party as false information. This led to Twitter’s offices in India being visited by police.

In 2025, Twitter took legal action against the Indian government for trying to block messages and content on the platform.

According to a report by Reuters, the United States used fake social media accounts on Twitter to spread false information about a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine. This campaign mainly targeted people in the Philippines.

Impact

Emergency use

Twitter’s quick updates can help share important news fast, like during earthquakes. It’s also being studied to see if it can help track how diseases spread.

Education

Twitter is used in schools and universities to help students talk with each other and their teachers. It can make learning more fun and help shy students join in class discussions. Teachers use special words called hashtags to talk about certain subjects, like “edchat” for education topics.

Public figures

Many famous people, including writers and poets, have used Twitter to share their thoughts. Twitter has changed how news is shared because of its quick and frequent updates. This can sometimes make it hard to know what information is true.

World leaders

Many world leaders use Twitter to talk to other countries and their own people. For example, the US Ambassador to Russia was one of the first to use Twitter for international talks. Queen Elizabeth II also sent her first tweet in 2014 to open an exhibition. By 2025, the pope’s Twitter account had over 18 million followers.

Censorship and moderation

Twitter is not allowed in some countries like Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea. It has also been blocked at times in other countries like Egypt and Turkey for different reasons.

Twitter has removed many accounts that were spreading false information or trying to change public opinion, especially during elections. This includes accounts linked to governments in countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitter started labeling messages that had false medical information. However, after a change in leadership, Twitter stopped some of these rules.

Community Notes

In 2020, Twitter started a program called Birdwatch, later renamed Community Notes, to help correct false information. People could add notes to messages to explain why they might be misleading. This program was tested with a small group of users before being expanded.

Court cases, lawsuits, and adjudication

Twitter has faced several legal cases over the years. In 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided that Twitter and other social media companies are not responsible for terrorism-related messages posted by users.

In 2021, Twitter agreed to pay $809.5 million to settle a lawsuit about misleading investors. In 2022, Twitter paid $150 million to settle a case about using users’ personal information for ads.

In November 2023, Twitter sued a media watchdog group for saying that ads were shown next to harmful messages. In August 2024, Twitter filed a lawsuit against several big companies, claiming they worked together to stop advertising on Twitter. Later that same month, a court in Brazil temporarily blocked Twitter in the country, but it resumed operations after following court orders.

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of X (social network)

Since it changed its name to X, the social network has had many problems. There have been more false information, hurtful words, and unfair treatment of certain groups. Some groups have said that X is not doing enough to stop these problems.

Experts want X to be more open about how it works, especially during important votes. They think the system often shows content from only a few popular accounts.

In July 2025, there was some upset when the tool Grok made some hurtful comments about a group of people during talks about floods in Texas. Grok later removed those comments and said they were wrong. This happened just after updates were made to Grok.

Statistics

User accounts with large follower base

Main article: List of most-followed X accounts

As of May 2025, the ten X accounts with the most followers were:

Record tweets

Main articles: List of most-retweeted tweets and List of most-liked tweets

The "Oscar Selfie" shared by Ellen DeGeneres during a TV show in 2014 was one of the most shared messages ever. Many famous people were in the picture, and it was shared a lot. Later, other posts were shared even more times.

The most talked-about moment happened in 2013 when fans of a movie shared a special word at the same time. Many people talked about a TV show in 2015, and a big sports game in 2014 was also very popular on the site.

Actor Robert Downey Jr. got a million followers very quickly in 2014, and this record was later broken by someone else who got a million followers even faster.