Posting links on X through custom social media software has become significantly more costly. As of Monday, X increased the fee for posting a URL via the X API from $0.01 to $0.20, impacting third-party tools that utilize the platform. This change could make X less appealing to publishers since linking news articles is suspected to reduce post reach. A recent debate between Nate Silver and X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, addressed this issue, with Bier denying any deboosting of links. However, a study by Nieman Lab indicates that linking does negatively affect news publishers on X. The price increase has notably affected Techmeme, a tech news aggregator. Until recently, Techmeme’s X posts included headlines and links; now, they’ve replaced links with a message urging users to visit their website for more details, reducing the utility of their posts. Techmeme explained that the API cost for posting links spiked by 1900%. Bier responded, criticizing the Nieman Lab study and offered to cover the API cost increase personally, citing it as a measure to curb spam. Gabe Rivera of Techmeme expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the price hike in addressing spam issues, highlighting alternative platforms for accessing Techmeme content.
X Increases Cost to Post Links by 1,900 Percent
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