Update: August 22, 2023
As of Monday, X has confirmed that it has fixed the bug that caused issues with displaying images from before 2014. The company assured users that no data or images were lost in the process. The issue will be fully resolved in the coming days.
The Issue at Hand
Over the weekend, a bug emerged on X, formerly known as Twitter, causing links and images posted using the social network’s native service before December 2014 to become inaccessible. Users took to social media to speculate that the bug was caused by the deletion of images from the platform, including the famous Oscar selfie. However, other users pointed out that images are still present on the server, albeit not visible in the usual manner.
The Famous Oscar Selfie: A Case Study
The Oscar selfie, taken by actor Bradley Cooper and posted on March 3, 2014, became a viral sensation at the time. However, when users tried to access it using X’s native service, they were met with broken links. Fortunately, the image is still present in embeds, but many other media and links are missing.
Developer Documentation: A Clue to the Cause
X’s Developer Documentation provides valuable insights into how the platform handles metadata for tweets. According to the documentation, the platform started showing previews of pictures, GIFs, and links starting in 2016. However, such metadata for tweets began emerging in December 2014.
"In July 2016, the enhanced URL enrichment was introduced," the documentation reads. "This enhanced version provides a website’s HTML title and description in the Tweet payload, along with Operators for matching those. With Historical PowerTrack, these metadata become available in July 2016. With the Search APIs, these metadata begin emerging in December 2014."
Reddit Speculation: A Shift to X.com?
Users commenting on a Reddit post speculated that the bug was caused by the company trying to shift servers to X.com. While there is no concrete evidence to support this theory, it’s possible that the migration process led to issues with displaying images and links.
Lack of Official Comment from Executives
Despite the controversy surrounding the bug, executives, including Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino, have remained silent on the issue. The lack of transparency has only added fuel to the fire, with users taking to social media to express their concerns.
Context: Controversy Surrounding X’s Recent Updates
The platform has been embroiled in controversy over the last few days following Musk’s announcement that the company plans to remove the ability to block users and introduce a new version of the mute feature instead. This move has sparked widespread criticism, with many users expressing their concerns about the impact on user safety and well-being.
Conclusion
The bug causing broken links and images on X is a significant issue that requires immediate attention from the company’s developers and executives. While the platform has confirmed that no data or images were lost in the process, the lack of transparency and communication with users has only added to the controversy surrounding the issue. As the company works to resolve the issue, it’s essential for executives to provide clear updates and explanations to users.
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