Twitter is officially X now.
End of an era
Twitter is now X pic.twitter.com/9LNBH6l6ol
— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) July 24, 2023
Since it was announced that American–South African–Canadian entrepreneur, investor, and business magnate Elon Musk would acquire Twitter, Inc. for $44 billion USD, netizens voiced concerns. Musk is known to be innovative yet problematic as he is the founder, CEO, and Chief Engineer at SpaceX; early-stage investor, CEO, and Product Architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company; and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. So, he is known for being innovative but also problematic.
BREAKING: Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc for $44 billion on Monday in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world's richest person. https://t.co/FPYTg6QWId pic.twitter.com/vyyeTVYYGP
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) April 25, 2022
I am afraid Twitter will be different, but Elon Musk's companies actually put out good products? It's just that he's terrible to work for and highly problematic when acting on his own.
But as for our user experience…I guess my reaction is this. 🤷 https://t.co/w1EeOHefxq
— Michael Adams-Hurta (@adams_hurta) April 25, 2022
K-Pop fans feared the changes as soon as the news got out about Musk’s takeover. So, some fandoms, such as the BTS ARMY, attempted to switch to platforms Weverse or Tumblr.
As someone who used Tumblr and then moved to Twitter I can tell you that Tumblr is better to use for those who are used to Twitter. Better than Instagram. I'll use both but this is what I think. If you're new to Tumblr, watch some tutorials on YT #armytotumblr
— watermelon 🍉 suga (@sugatheartist) November 18, 2022
— Bia⁷ (@KIMEASE) April 25, 2022
As many feared, since Musk’s takeover of the social media app, there have been a lot of changes which has affected both fans and idols. Celebrities’ blue check marks disappeared, as they are now charged for them.
내가 공인임을 인증하기 위해
돈을 내고 파란딱지를 사라고???
재밌네 이거@elonmusk 그래서 어디로 내라구요
색깔도 고를수잇어여?? https://t.co/jpvxqDXB2i— 이영지 (@dokgodieinsaeng) June 5, 2023
To prove that I’m a public figure, I need to pay and buy a blue check???
This is fun@elonmusk so where do I pay? Can I choose the color, too?
— Lee Young Ji
When Twitter announced it would purge inactive accounts, K-Pop fans worried about that too. So, they tagged their favorite groups and idols who hadn’t posted recently.
OH QUICK @SF9official KEEP POSTING SOMETHING https://t.co/zD34LLDgPv
— jill 🌙 (@lalunatua) May 9, 2023
the disbanded grp accounts.. https://t.co/Bu8x8VjAlr pic.twitter.com/qvZ7LizGGw
— ِ (@gonlans) May 8, 2023
Now, Twitter has had the biggest update: it’s actually no longer Twitter.
Oh my fucking god pic.twitter.com/BDLFkAiEza
— Lolo (@LolOverruled) July 29, 2023
For many users, Twitter has transformed into X. So, the cute blue-and-white bird app is now a black-and-white X. Netizens are unhappy, complaining that it’s not an update but a downgrade.
never seen a bigger downgrade in my life https://t.co/MWUXVIw2J1
— Hurt CoPain (@SaeedDiCaprio) July 30, 2023
With the sudden and automatic change that very few consented to, it’s confusing users, including celebrities. Both Epik High‘s Tablo and Denise Kim (former member of the girl group SECRET NUMBER) reacted.
“뭐야 트위터 어디갔어” pic.twitter.com/bOXuZhjpWh
— tablo (@blobyblo) July 31, 2023
‘What the-? Where did Twitter go?’
— Tablo
X됐네 pic.twitter.com/pm2ZORJdN3
— tablo (@blobyblo) July 31, 2023
It turned to X.
— Tablo
Almost deleted this app this morning cause I didn’t know what it was
— Denise/데니스 (@denisekimsays) July 30, 2023
On the other hand, K-Pop fans are joking that the app is a new app for the group MONSTA X! So, the memes are out, and not-so-coincidentally MONSTA X has trended alongside “Wtf is X.”
everyone the MONSTA X app just launched! https://t.co/nK4xbzVpvO
— jooheon’s military WIFE (@HEONHIVE) July 30, 2023
— mira (@heonzyo) July 31, 2023
why is this kinda funny pic.twitter.com/Y6r01BOefL
— rein. 🦭 the unseen 🕶️ (@monstaxthirstyy) July 31, 2023
@i.n.and.i.m MONSTA MONSTA😈 #monstax #monbebe #kpop #x #twitter #jooheon #fyp #foryou
Some even said that “Twitter went from ‘Ahgase’ to ‘MONBEBE,'” the respective fandoms of GOT7 and MONSTA X. “Ahgase” (아가새) is short for iGOT7 (아이 갓세븐) but also means “baby bird,” so a bird became the symbol for the GOT7 fandom.
Twitter went from "Ahgase" to "Monbebe" 😅 https://t.co/nIP9QSV5jm pic.twitter.com/u5DquYj7zt
— 𝓜𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒋𝒂 ❛ 𝙇𝙊𝙇𝙊 ❜ era.👽 (@___nghtshde) July 30, 2023
twitter went from being an ahgase to being a monbebe
— 알렉스 ♥︎ (@pjm_hrs) July 30, 2023
In fact, Ahgases also credit GOT7 for some of the app’s better updates. Read more below.
Fans Are Crediting GOT7 For Twitter’s Newly Updated Features
