X opens sources its algorithm while facing a fine over transparency and Grok controversies

In 2023, the website then known as Twitter partially opened its algorithm for the first time. In those days, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk had only recently acquired the platform and claimed to be on a mission to restructure the social media platform to make it more transparent.

However, the release of the algorithm’s code was quickly criticized as “transparency theatre”, with critics noting that it was “incomplete”, and that it did not reveal much about the inner workings of the organisation, or why the code worked the way it did.

Now, the site (rebranded as X) has open-sourced the algorithm again, fulfilling a promise Musk made last week. “We will make the new 𝕏 algorithm, including all the code used to determine recommended organic and ad posts to users, open source in 7 days,” he said. Musk also promised to provide transparency into the algorithm every four weeks for the foreseeable future.

In a GitHub post on Tuesday, X provided an accessible article about his feed creation code, as well as a diagram of how the program works.

What’s revealed isn’t particularly earth-shattering, but it does provide a peek behind the algorithmic curtain. The graph shows that when sifting through content to feed a particular user, the site’s algorithm takes into account their engagement history (what posts they’ve clicked on, etc.) and polls recent posts within the network. It also performs machine learning-based analysis of “offline” posts — as in content from accounts the user doesn’t necessarily follow — that it thinks the user might also find engaging.

The algorithm then filters out certain types of posts, including those that come from banned accounts or are linked to muted keywords, as well as content deemed too violent or spam-like. The algorithm then ranks this content based on what it thinks the user will find most engaging. This process takes into account factors such as relevancy and diversity of content so users don’t get a bunch of similar posts. The algorithm also considers content according to the likelihood that a user will like it, reply to it, repost it, favorite it, or interact with it in some way.

This entire system is based on artificial intelligence, according to In other words, Grok looks for what you click on and like, and then feeds that information into its recommendation system. The article also notes that there is no “manual feature engineering for content relevance,” meaning that humans are not manually adjusting how the algorithm determines what is relevant. He adds that automation “dramatically reduces complexity in our data pipelines and service infrastructure.”

Why is X revealing all this now? It’s not entirely clear. In the past, Musk has claimed that he wants to make the platform a model for corporate transparency — a theme that continues today. In 2023, when Twitter’s algorithm was first revealed, Musk said that providing “code transparency” would be “incredibly awkward at first” but would eventually “result in a rapid improvement in the quality of recommendations.” He added: “The most important thing is that we hope to gain your trust.” With the first open source code, the platform heralded a “new era of transparency” for Twitter.

Although Musk has talked about transparency, some aspects of the platform have arguably become less open since Musk acquired it. When the tech billionaire bought Twitter in 2022, the site was notably forced to transition from a public company to a private one — a development that doesn’t usually equate to openness. While the site used to release multiple transparency reports annually,

Company X has also come under pressure over the past month over the ways in which its chatbot, Grok, has been used to create and distribute sexual content. The California Attorney General’s Office and lawmakers in Congress have scrutinized the platform in recent weeks, citing allegations that Grok has been used to create nude images of women and minors. As a result, some may view this call for openness as mere theatrics.