Elon Musk‘s X, formerly Twitter, has seen a significant increase in X-rated content following the SpaceX billionaire’s decision to cut content moderation teams.
New York magazine’s John Herrman highlighted just one of the rampant X-rated issues on X — porn spambots exploiting the phrase “p*ssy in bio” to ensnare vulnerable users into scams disguised as links to local singles. This scenario reveals the platform’s glaring shortcomings in managing such problems on a broad scale.
Additionally, X has become a promotional haven for OnlyFans creators. Despite Twitter’s open content policies even before its acquisition by Musk, there has been a surge in posts advertising OnlyFans agencies — accounts manned by call center agents on behalf of OnlyFans creators that imitate real individuals.
Like OnlyFans creators, others may see the abundance of adult and spam content on X as a business opportunity. However, it also threatens to dissuade hesitant advertisers further and possibly drive away users uncomfortable with excessive exposure to pornographic material. Musk’s decision to trim the moderation teams, leading to an influx of such content, has drawn extensive criticism from users and advertisers alike.
In an attempt to spare users who do not wish to be exposed to such material, X is testing a new feature that allows for the creation and joining of communities focused on “adult content” or “not safe for work” (NSFW) material. This new feature, part of an effort to safeguard its users, permits users to label their communities as containing “sensitive adult content.”