X Articles Face Scrutiny Over Limited Reach, User Frustration Mounts

San Francisco, CA – X's long-form content feature, "Articles," is drawing criticism from users who report significantly limited reach and discoverability, challenging the platform's vision for in-depth content. Ron Stauffer, a user on the platform, recently articulated this frustration in a widely shared post, stating, "> "𝕏 Articles was supposed to fix that, but they have worse reach than anything on this entire platform. You could hide a dead body in an 𝕏 Article and nobody would ever find it."

Launched to enable Premium+ subscribers and verified organizations to publish extensive written pieces, X Articles offers a dedicated space for long-form content, complete with text editing, embedded media, and formatting options. The feature was intended to support Elon Musk's ambition to transform X into an "everything app" and foster "citizen journalism" by providing an alternative to traditional media outlets.

However, independent analysis and user experiences suggest that the algorithm does not favor these articles. One report from April 2024 indicated that X Articles often achieve only "1/4 of the usual audience you would expect from a similar long-form post." The author of the report speculated that because an article appears as a link within a post, the X algorithm may inadvertently penalize its reach, similar to how it treats external links.

This perceived algorithmic suppression comes amidst a broader decline in organic social media reach across various platforms, with X experiencing a reported 61.83% decrease in organic reach over the past three years. Users have also voiced concerns that the platform's algorithm increasingly prioritizes content from paying subscribers, leading to a "pay-to-play" environment that disadvantages non-paying users and, paradoxically, even certain features meant to enhance content.

The limited accessibility of X Articles, primarily available to Premium+ users and verified organizations, also contributes to its struggle for widespread adoption and visibility. While the feature aims to provide a platform for diverse voices, the paywall inherently restricts the volume and variety of content, further impacting its overall discoverability and engagement within the fast-paced X ecosystem.