X admits its broken algorithm made the site feel like a ‘battleground’

Now it’s supposedly focusing on community instead of replies from people you don’t follow.

X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, admitted in a post on Monday that X’s algorithm was “missing” data about surfacing posts from people who you’ve followed back. Now, he says a tweak will “boost visibility of your posts to your mutuals,” hopefully enhancing the sense of community instead of highlighting and spreading random arguments, but didn’t explain how the data went missing in the first place.

Last week, Bier also said users who post original content will “climb faster,” after admitting that top accounts on the platform have been posting “stolen” recycled content from other users, and now this tweak might address the platform’s tilt toward controversy over other kinds of discussions.

We’re rolling out a small tweak to boost visibility of your posts to your mutuals (people who you follow back). We noticed this data was missing from the algo and it made your friends appear less in your replies. This resulted in the reply section feeling more like a battleground with people you don’t recognize. This should also help clusters form around interests more easily, which many people have asked for.

Focusing on community follows similar updates recently on Threads and Bluesky, as TechCrunch notes. When Meta announced Threads had passed 500 million monthly active users last month, it said: “This growth is driven by communities — groups of people showing up around the conversations they care about, from books to basketball to parenting to music.” Bluesky’s COO, Rose Wang, said last month that the platform is shifting away from being a Twitter-style “town square.” Now-permanent CEO Toni Schneider echoed that message last week , saying Bluesky will focus on “the ability to create smaller spaces and more private communities.”

In May, X announced the end of its Community feature and shifted users to large group chats, as Bier said it would continue “investing heavily in niche communities,” including the custom timelines feature.