Elon Musk’s According to a new study published by Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Musk's posts have suddenly become more popular.
The study's authors - Timothy Graham, associate professor of digital media at Queensland University of Technology, and Mark Andrejevic, professor of communication and media studies at Monash University - first looked at Musk's involvement before and after he endorsed Trump in July.
They report that starting around July 13, views and retweets on Musk's posts increased by 138% and 238%, respectively, compared to before that date.
They concluded that Musk's data "exceeds overall engagement trends across the platform." (This paper is not the first time it has been suggested that X tweaked the algorithm to specifically boost Musk’s account). The researchers also found that other Republican-leaning accounts they examined began seeing similar, if milder, boosts in July.
The study's findings are similar to other findings recently reported by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post about possible right-wing bias in X's algorithm. However, the researchers said they were limited by the "relatively small amount of data" because the platform cut off access to its academic API. The researchers added that while they found no signs of data loss, "there is no guarantee that 100% of the posts were collected."