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On a recent Thursday, journalists cramming into the White House press briefing room saw an unfamiliar face in a rotating seat designated for new media. It was occupied by John Stoll, who had recently been appointed head of news at X, the social platform owned by Elon Musk.
As you all know — you are all on X — it’s home to hundreds of millions of users, a large contingent of independent journalists and news organizations across geographies and political spectrums, said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, by way of an introduction.
The decision by the White House to grant X a position of power and visibility alongside news organizations was one of an increasing number of perks landed by the social media company, as Mr. Musk became omnipresent at President Trump’s side.
Since the election, the platform has become a go-to source for administration information, as Mr. Musk provides real-time updates about his Department of Government Efficiency and targets for federal cost-cutting to his more than 219 million followers. In February, at least a dozen government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and Defense Department, established new DOGE-focused X accounts to seek tips about federal waste and fraud.
X has faced hurdles since Mr. Musk bought it for $44 billion in late 2022. He dismissed more than 80 percent of the staff and removed content moderation rules that limited hate speech. Some advertisers departed, worried their brands would appear next to offensive content.
But in February, X’s bankers were finally able to sell billions of dollars of debt to investors. Months earlier, investors were negotiating to buy that debt at a loss of 10 percent to 20 percent for the banks.
X has also added DOGE accounts for government agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission. While the agencies already have accounts on X, the new DOGE-themed accounts received the gray check mark badges normally reserved for government agencies.
Conservatives have found that X is a direct pipeline to Mr. Musk, allowing them to influence federal policy. He has responded to viral complaints about the government on the platform, and his cost-cutting initiative has marked users’ concerns as “fixed.”
X created a head of news position to oversee the company’s partnerships with media companies that advertise or share their work on the platform and hired Mr. Stoll, a former editor at The Wall Street Journal, in January.
During Mr. Stoll’s only appearance in the press room so far, he said his presence was a testament to the White House’s “open-mindedness but also to innovation.”
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