Elon Musk’s support for Donald Trump has become official with his public endorsement of the former president shortly after the assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally. However, it seems that Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), is also displaying support for Trump in a unique way.
On July 18, some X users noticed that custom icons were appearing next to certain pro-Trump hashtags. For example, when a user posts the hashtag #MAGA, a small photo of Trump raising his fist after the shooting automatically appears next to the hashtag in the post. This is an interesting move by X, as they have previously added emoji-like custom icons next to hashtags, but those were usually part of brand advertising deals for live events or movie releases.
However, this appears to be the first time X has added a custom hashtag icon in a partisan manner promoting a specific candidate. These custom icons appeared on the same day that Trump was scheduled to give a speech formally accepting his nomination as the official Republican nominee for president on the final day of the Republican National Convention.
It is unclear at this time if the Republican National Convention paid X for these custom hashtag icons. Typically, companies and brands would pay for a custom hashtag icon, as users cannot create them on their own through the platform. Mashable has reached out to X to inquire about the scope of this change and whether it is a first-of-its-kind program. They have also asked if money changed hands in this instance.
As of now, #MAGA and #Trump2024 are the only pro-Trump hashtags given a custom icon by X. Interestingly, the #Biden2024 hashtag for President Joe Biden does not have any custom icon associated with it.
In conclusion, this move by X to display custom icons next to pro-Trump hashtags is a notable departure from their previous use of custom icons for bipartisan events. It raises questions about the motivations behind this decision and whether there was any financial involvement. As more information becomes available, it will be interesting to see how X responds and if they extend this custom hashtag icon program to other political candidates in the future.
