Elon Musk calls hashtags ugly; Claims that the Twitter algorithm doesn’t need them

An X employee tried out the Grok AI and asked the chatbot if it was okay to use hashtags on X/Twitter. The clear answer was no. It compared hashtags on X “as useful as a screen door on a submarine.” It suggested that the user should let their content go down the drain using hashtags if they wanted. Grok quipped, “It’s not like X has evolved into a place where the algorithm punishes you for being too anxious to be seen,” it further added

In the grand scheme of digital darkness, hashtags are your ticket to nowhere.”

See also: The development of the hashtag

However, Grok gives conflicting answers to different users depending on the context of the question and states that the jury is mixed on the issue. Nevertheless, the billionaire boss of X/Twitter intervened, reposting the tweet and claiming that the systems at Twitter headquarters no longer require hashtags. He suggested X to users

Please stop using hashtags. You look ugly.”

grok comments on the use of hashtags on 𝕏 💀 pic.twitter.com/YO2ofSpkVe
– Dan (@KettlebellDan) December 17, 2024

“If your goal is to increase visibility within a community or address trending topics, a few relevant hashtags could still be beneficial.”https://t.co/mQpNcKoIQh — Paola Poot (@PootDibou) December 17, 2024

Please stop using hashtags. The system no longer needs them and they look ugly. https://t.co/GKEp1v1wiB — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 17, 2024

See also: Elon Musk May Plan to Remove Hashtags from Platform X; Everything we know so far

Hashtags or number signs as a discoverability feature were first invented in 2007 by American product designer Chris Messina, who decided against patenting them. He suggested the same thing in his 2007 tweet. The metadata tag was adopted in Twitter and Tumblr and soon spread to several other media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, and more. One of the more famous hashtags on the platform that sparked a cultural revolution is the #MeToo movement. To go along with the hashtags, Twitter also introduced the “Trending Topic” in 2010. Sometimes certain offensive hashtags are disabled on platforms like Instagram to curb abuse.

See also: AR Rahman uses Bizzare hashtag in his divorce announcement; The internet asks, “Who creates hashtags for this situation?”

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