Research has found that X’s algorithm now favors two things: Republicans and Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s IX may have changed its algorithm to boost his account, as well as that of other conservative-leaning users, since he announced his support for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. That’s according to new research published by Queensland University of Technology (QUT), which found that Musk’s posts in particular were the most popular.

The study’s authors – QUT associate professor of digital communications Timothy Graham and Monash University communications and media studies professor Mark Andrejevic – first looked at Musk’s engagement before and after his endorsement of Trump in July. They report that since July 13, Musk’s posts are getting 138 percent more views and 238 percent more retweets than before that day.

Musk’s numbers “exceeded the general engagement trends seen across the board,” they concluded. (This paper is not the first time it has been suggested that X adjusted its algorithm to specifically promote Musk’s account.) The researchers also found that other Republican-based accounts they examined saw similar increases that began in July, albeit at a slower rate.

The results of the study are similar to other recent findings reported by The Wall Street Journal again The Washington Post of possible right-wing bias in X algorithms. However, the researchers said they were limited by the “relatively small amount of data” that could be collected since the platform cut off access to its Education API. They added that while they saw no indication of data shortages, “there is no guarantee that 100% of submissions have been collected.”