This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Oureditorialsoffer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
A giant pointing hand graphic appears during post composition, directing users to the Promote button. Users report the prompts since the prior day, causing confusion and irritation across platforms.
Save coverage image
Landscape · 1200 × 630Square · 1200 × 12004:3 · 1200 × 900Portrait · 1080 × 1350
Read the story
A hand points to Promote
X displayed a pointing hand that appeared while users were composing posts, directing them to the “promote” button, and multiple users posted that the graphic showed up “over the last 24 hours.” A growing number of users have posted that a mysterious hand pointing to the “promote” button suddenly showed up while they were writing, and the prompt did not include any words.
The prompt “is directing them to the Promote button,” and it described the Promote feature as a paid option used “to reach more people on the platform.” Gizmodo said users saw “an entire goddamn arm appearing unprompted on screen,” and it framed the change as an abrupt user experience shift while posting on X.com.
Reporting for this sectionTechCrunchGadgets 360
Leadership change fuels questions
Nikita Bier left X in August after almost a year at the helm, and the hand prompt arrived as users speculated about whether the change was connected to product leadership. Peter Sellis posted that he “has taken over as X’s product chief,” and TechCrunch said it was unclear whether the hand was Sellis’s doing.
Dylan Abruscato, president of the TBPN podcast, called the engagement trick the “most Nikita-coded thing I’ve ever seen,” linking it to growth tactics associated with Nikita Bier. Mezha.net said X had not explained the hand and reported that it was “unclear whether the hand was his idea,” after Sellis’s Monday post about taking over as product chief.
Reporting for this sectionTechCrunchAmmon News
Halloween prank or paid push
X users tied the timing of the pointing hand to Halloween, and TechCrunch said “With Halloween around the corner, it could be a prank meant to spook users, though X hasn’t said so.”Digital Trends echoed the same uncertainty, saying the company “hasn’t said anything to back that up,” while it asked whether X was trying to scare users into spending money.
X had “yet to give an official explanation,” and it described the prompt as possibly “a prank” or a test with a limited audience. Gizmodo concluded that “posting the thing that used to be called a tweet was unchanged,” while it questioned whether the arm was still appearing for users.
Reporting for this sectionTechCrunchDigital Trends
