Posts encouraging eating disorders were recommended to X users

Communities that promote eating disorders have been thriving on X, with some users saying the platform has recommended content to them that glorifies starving.

Content warning: This piece includes descriptions of eating disorders and self-harm that may be triggering to some readers. The National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline provides support, resources and information about treatment options at 1-866-662-1235. You can also text “ALLIANCE” to 741741 to be contacted by a trained volunteer.

Communities that promote eating disorders have been thriving on X, with some users saying the platform has recommended content to them that glorifies or encourages starving, self-harm and being underweight.

Over the last two years, over 173,000 users joined one such X community, a recent feature that allows people to join groups based around a shared interest, making it one of the largest on the platform. More than 70,000 of them had joined since June. Thousands of posts were made in the group daily, including encouragement and instructions for disordered eating.

Many of the users identified as teen girls and young women, some as young as 13.

Users refer to the groups as part of “edtwt”(eating disorder Twitter), referring to X’s previous name. The posts are a glimpse into a thriving social media subculture that has migrated across platforms for over a decade, well before Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, and has an even longer history across social media platforms, from Tumblr and Pinterest in the 2010s to Instagram and TikTok today. X, which experienced major upheaval after Musk became CEO of the company, is the latest platform to struggle with moderation of the subculture.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/x-became-hub-groups-encouraging-eating-disorders-rcna167609

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