A forthcoming change to the block feature on X is sparking furious backlash—and speculation that the change was rolled out solely so Elon Musk can see his ex-wife’s posts.
The change—announced Wednesday but teased earlier—will mean that posts from a public account will still be visible to accounts they blocked.
“If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage (like, reply, repost, etc.),” X’s engineering team wrote.
“Today, block can be used by users to share and hide harmful or private information about those they’ve blocked,” they added. “Users will be able to see if such behavior occurs with this update, allowing for greater transparency.”
The impending change has drawn harsh criticism, with opponents arguing the removal of the block feature as it currently exists will promote stalking and harassment.
But others are speculating there is an ulterior motive behind the move—and like all things X, it has to do with Musk’s pettiness.
Having once shifted the algorithm entirely to get more engagement, people now think X’s billionaire owner wants to keep tabs on his ex, singer-songwriter Grimes.
“did grimes block him or something,” quipped one person.
“elon wants to stalk grimes so bad,” replied another.
“There’s gotta be an easier way to see what Grimes is posting,” echoed someone else.
“Elon’s 7 millionth attempt to get back in Grimes’ dms,” joked another user.
Other users critical of the forthcoming change alleged it was just an attempt to stroke Musk’s own ego.
“Elon Musk wants to get rid of blocking because he’s the most blocked person on this hellsite, hope he gets what he wants and has to see how much everyone despises him,” bashed one person.
“some engineer showed elon that he was the most blocked account on the platform and he got mad,” someone else concluded, after the plans were first announced.
Echoed one person: “There’s no reason for this change besides the fact that Elon Musk is one of the most blocked accounts on here and he knows it.”
Another person tore into Musk’s decision, writing: “This is 100% because so many people have Elon Musk blocked and he can’t stand it. Every ‘feature’ and change on this website is downstream of the world’s richest man being an insecure narcissist who is desperate to be seen and liked.”
Knocked someone else: “This is why advertisers will never come back. All this because a man can’t handle being blocked.”
Musk has long anticipated the plan, writing in August 2023 that “block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature,’ except for DMs” because “it makes no sense.”
His post at the time was met with a Community Note stating: “Blocking is a basic safety feature that allows basic protection for victims of abuse and stalking. Removing this feature would compromise the safety of many people on social media.”
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