X adds the ability to sort replies by relevance, number of likes, and newest, could this be a solution to impression zombies with blue check marks?

On August 10, 2024, Japan time, X (formerly Twitter) added a feature to sort replies by 'most relevant,' 'newest,' or 'most likes.' X users are increasingly dissatisfied with 'impression zombies,' who flock to popular posts in order to get impressions, and it is hoped that the reply sorting feature will be a solution to this problem.

rolling out now: sort replies on any post by most relevant, recent, or liked

pic.twitter.com/bBjaRliUxZ

— X (@X) August 9, 2024

Elon Musk's X lets users sort replies to find more relevant comments | Mashable
https://mashable.com/article/x-twitter-launches-reply-sorting

Twitter finally fixes the most annoying change to replies - 9to5Mac
https://9to5mac.com/2024/08/10/twitter-reply-sorting/

X's reply sorting feature is available on both the web and mobile versions. On the web version, click 'Most Relevant' at the bottom of a post with replies.

By default, posts are sorted by what the algorithm determines to be 'highly relevant,' but this is given preferential treatment to users who have a blue check mark and have subscribed to the paid Twitter Blue subscription. With the new feature, you can sort posts by 'newest' or 'most likes' instead of relevance.

When displayed in 'Newest first', it looks like this. Replies are listed in order of when they were sent.

If you select 'Most likes,' replies will be displayed in order of the number of likes they received.

Similarly, on the mobile app, you can sort replies by 'Most relevant replies,' 'Newest,' or 'Most likes.'

Starting in 2023, X will roll out an advertising revenue sharing program for paid subscription plan subscribers, allowing users to receive rewards based on the number of impressions. As a result, there has been a rapid increase in accounts known as 'impression zombies,' who send random replies to popular posts and earn impressions.

Many users dislike impression zombies because when replies are flooded with impression zombies, it becomes difficult to see replies from regular users. It is hoped that the newly introduced reply sorting function will make it easier to see replies from regular users instead of impression zombies.

However, the sorting of replies is dependent on the number of likes and the timing of the replies, and it is not possible to target and eliminate only impression zombies. Therefore, if impression zombies use a strategy of liking each other's posts, or if impression zombies are gathering at the same time, there is a possibility that impression zombies will appear at the top even if the posts are sorted.

My impression after actually using it is that sorting by 'likes' is not very effective for posts where replies are unlikely to get likes, such as official content accounts or replies to celebrities. On the other hand, useful or interesting replies tend to get likes for buzz tweets from regular users, so I felt that sorting by 'likes' made it easier to find useful posts.

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