On a recent Thursday, journalists crammed into the White House press briefing room saw unfamiliar faces in a swivel seat designated by New Media.
It was occupied by John Stoll, who was recently appointed head of news on X, a social platform owned by Elon Musk.
“As you all know, you all have an X — that's a massive requirement for hundreds of millions of users, independent journalists and news organizations of geography and political spectrum,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as an introduction. She then instructed Mr. Stoll to ask her the first question.
The White House's decision to grant power and visibility status alongside news organizations was one of many perks social media companies landed as Musk became ubiquitous on Trump's side.
Since the election, Musk has provided real-time updates on government efficiency and real-time updates to more than 219 million followers about federal cost savings, making the platform a go-to source for management information. In February, at least 12 government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Defense, established new Doge-focused X-accounts to seek tips on federal waste and fraud. Users looking for an audience with Musk flocked to the site more and more, hoping to catch their ears.
The X positioning as a powerful government mouthpiece has helped strengthen the platform despite the company's continued struggles. According to an internal email seen by The New York Times, they scrambled to reach their revenue and advertising goals over the last few months. It faces scrutiny of regulations overseas. And on March 28, Musk announced that he had sold Xai to artificial intelligence startups, combining the struggling company with a faster growth company.
Still, X's growing vision under the Trump administration was outstanding and had a halo effect. The bankers have sold billions of dollars in the company's outstanding debt in recent weeks, backed by investor optimism about Musk's cooperation with Trump. Major advertisers such as Amazon and Apple are back.
It is unclear how long X's new momentum will last, and how much of it is a direct result of Musk approaching Trump, but its recent success is worth noting after years of business problems.
“X is where everything happens in real time,” X's CEO Linda Jaccarino wrote on the platform last month. “There's no raw ideas and filters with more truths and more voices.”
Musk did not respond to a request for comment. X and the White House declined to comment.
The X change follows a few months of whirlwinds that made Musk one of Trump's most influential advisors, including leading government efficiency. Musk, who also heads electric car makers Tesla and rocket company SpaceX from the office suite next to the White House, has been instrumental in setting and enacting management policies.
X has faced hurdles since Musk bought it for $44 billion in late 2022. He rejected more than 80% of his staff and removed content moderation rules that restrict hate speech. Some advertisers left and worried that their brand would appear next to offensive content.
In December, Fidelity, which invested in the acquisition of Musk's company, valued X at $12 billion.
However, in February, X's bankers were finally able to sell billions of dollars in debt to investors. A few months ago, investors were negotiating at the bank to buy the debt with a loss of 10% to 20%. “Some companies may be nervous about being considered unin power because they are not involved in X,” said Jo-Ellen Pozner, an associate professor of management at Santa Clara University's Holiday School.
Still, X faced a continuing struggle. In January, Musk wrote in an email to employees that the revenues were “unimpressive” and that the company was “barely broken.” As of early March, X was offering $91 million in the first quarter, according to another message, which said it was well below its $153 million target.
“It's time to sprint to the finish line,” the email read.
The deal was valued at approximately $33 billion by Musk on March 28th, and was acquired by XAI, valued at $80 billion.
“I don't have a big sense of whether either of these companies is worth it,” said Eric Tally, a professor at Columbia Law School, specializing in corporate governance. “They have to almost stand up and fall together.”
Musk, who has long been bristled in media coverage for himself and his company, has positioned X as a new media outlet in recent months, using his own news creation power to draw a spotlight on his platform.
“You're in the media right now,” he posted on January 15th, re-sharing his video of pitching X as the future of civic journalism. “Legacy media is controlled by a handful of editors, so it encourages people to write things on the X platform,” he said in the video.
As Musk cut government costs, the Doge initiative received an official government account X account and a grey verification badge. The account now promotes the initiative's achievements and pushes critics back.
“He's converting X into government media as a platform. There are no restrictions at all,” says David Kaye, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine University, studying online speeches.
In February, X also added DOGE accounts to government agencies, including the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The agency already has an account on X, but the new Doge-themed account received the grey checkmark badge, which is normally reserved for government agencies. They operate as a tip line for cost-reducing projects and encourage users to share information about federal waste.
Conservatives can discover that X is a direct pipeline to Musk, and influence federal government policies. He has responded to virus complaints about government on the platform, and his cost-cutting initiatives show user concerns as “fixed.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa who has long focused on government costs reductions, described it as the Senate's “topwatch dozier” in a November post. Musk responded with two American flag emojis.
“We appreciate the years of efforts to improve government efficiency! It's extremely helpful,” Musk wrote in a December exchange.
X created the head of news positions to oversee partnerships with media companies that promote or share work on the platform, and in January hired former Wall Street Journal editor Stoll.
Shortly after Trump took office, the administration decided to shake up the White House press room. The well-known chair of the Secretary of Reporters' lecture aspect is assigned to reporters of the term “New Media,” including podcasters, influencers and “news-related content” creators.
During Stoll's only appearance in the press room so far, he said his presence was a testament to the White House's “testimony on innovation as well as open mind.”
He then asked about “confidence in the administration's ability to go to the toes with Vladimir Putin.”
Ryan Mac Reports of contributions.
