Twitter was an American social networking service that was rebranded as X in 2023.
Established in March
2006, it grew to become one of the world's largest social media websites and the fifth-most visited
website in the world.[1][2] It was launched in July 2006, and its creators Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz
Stone, and Evan Williams, established Twitter, Inc. in San Francisco, California, as its managing company
in April 2007.
A defining feature was its demand for succinct posts, originally capped at 140 characters and later
extended to 280 in 2017.[3] Users could share concise text messages, images, and videos through
"tweets" and engage with other users' content via likes or "retweets".[4] Additional features like direct
messaging, bookmarks, and lists were also included. Later innovations such as groups ("communities")
and Birdwatch, allowing users to annotate tweets for context, were introduced. By 2012, over 100
million users were generating 340 million tweets daily, with the majority coming from a minority of
users.[5][6] In 2020, it was estimated that approximately 48 million accounts (15%) were bots rather
than genuine users.[7]
In October 2022, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk acquired Twitter for US$44 billion, assuming the
role of CEO with an aim to champion free speech.[8][9] However, since the acquisition, the platform has
faced criticism for facilitating the spread of disinformation[10][11] and hate speech.[12][13] Linda
Yaccarino succeeded Musk as CEO on June 5, 2023, while Musk retained positions as chairman and chief
technology officer.[14][15] In July 2023, Musk announced the rebranding of Twitter to X, accompanied
by the retirement of its iconic bird logo.[16][17]
