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Twitter facts for kids

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X
Mathematical double-struck capital X
Logo used since 2023
Screen of X (Twitter).png
X homepage visited while logged out in July 2025
Type of site
Social networking service
Available in Multilingual
Founded March 21, 2006; 19 years ago (2006-03-21), in San Francisco, California, U.S.
Headquarters Bastrop, Texas, United States
Area served Worldwide, except blocking countries
Owner
  • Odeo (March–October 2006)
  • Obvious Corporation (2006–2007)
  • Twitter, Inc. (2007–2023)
  • X Corp. (2023–present)
Founder(s)
Chairman Elon Musk
CEO Linda Yaccarino
Registration Required
Launched July 15, 2006; 18 years ago (2006-07-15)
Current status Active
Native client(s) on
Content license
Proprietary
Written in

X, which used to be called Twitter, is a very popular online place where people connect and share short messages. It's one of the biggest social media sites in the world. You can share short messages, pictures, and videos, which are called "posts." You can also "like" what other people share. X also lets you send private messages, make video and audio calls, save posts, and join groups. It even has a chatbot called Grok and a feature for live audio chats called Spaces.

The Story of X: How it Started and Grew

Twttr sketch-Dorsey-2006
A sketch from around 2006 by Jack Dorsey, showing an idea for a social network using text messages.
X logo 2023 original
The first version of the X logo.

X was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. It officially launched in July of that same year. Twitter, as it was known then, grew very quickly! By 2012, more than 100 million people were using it and sending 340 million posts every day.

At first, posts were very short, limited to just 140 characters, like a text message. In 2017, this limit was changed to 280 characters. For people who subscribe to X, the character limit was removed completely in 2023.

In October 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter for a lot of money. He said he wanted to make sure everyone could speak freely on the platform. In March 2023, the company that owned Twitter changed its name to X Corp..

Linda Yaccarino became the CEO of X in June 2023, but Elon Musk stayed on as the chairman. In July 2023, Musk announced that Twitter would change its name to "X" and its famous bird logo would be replaced. This change was finished by May 2024.

The X Logo: How it Changed Over Time

World Leaders Using X

Donald Trump Facebook Twitter post 19679418 10159419638630725 2833632475130915488
Donald Trump's Twitter post from July 2017.

Many world leaders and their teams use X to talk to people in other countries and their own citizens. This is sometimes called "Twitter diplomacy." For example, Queen Elizabeth II sent her first post in October 2014. A study in 2013 found that most countries at the United Nations had official X accounts. These accounts helped leaders reach over 106 million followers!

Fun Facts About X

Twitter Town Hall-Dorsey Obama
Jack Dorsey (left) with Barack Obama during a Twitter Town Hall in July 2011.
  • The first idea for this service was called twttr. This name was inspired by Flickr and the short codes used for text messages. The company later bought the name "Twitter" and changed it.
  • Before it became X, Twitter was known around the world for its blue bird logo, called the Twitter Bird.
  • X has apps for phones and tablets like iPhone, iPad, and Android.
  • A small group of very active users (about 10%) create most of the posts (about 80%).
  • In 2017, Twitter launched Twitter Lite, a smaller version for places with slow internet or phones with little storage.
  • In 2023, the X website supported 34 different languages.
  • X uses open-source software, which means its code is available for others to see and use.
  • In 2020, it was thought that about 15% of accounts were run by internet bots (computer programs) instead of real people.
  • X is often used as a way to share breaking news quickly, like during emergencies.
  • Many colleges and universities use X as a tool for learning and communication.
  • The leaders of 125 countries and many other important politicians have X accounts. They have sent over 350,000 posts and have almost 52 million followers combined.

Most Followed Accounts on X

As of February 14, 2025, here are the top ten accounts with the most followers on X:

Top ten most-followed X accounts
Rank Change Account name Owner Followers
(millions)
Activity Country
1 Steady @elonmusk Elon Musk 217.5 Business magnate and chairman  RSA
 Canada
 United States
2 Steady @BarackObama Barack Obama 130.7 44th U.S. president  United States
3 Increase @Cristiano Cristiano Ronaldo 114.7 Footballer  POR
4 Decrease @justinbieber Justin Bieber 109.8 Musician  Canada
5 Steady @rihanna Rihanna 108.2 Musician and businesswoman  Barbados
6 Steady @katyperry Katy Perry 105.5 Musician  United States
7 Increase @narendramodi Narendra Modi 104.7 Prime Minister of India  IND
8 Increase @realDonaldTrump Donald Trump 100.9 45th and 47th U.S. president  United States
9 Decrease @taylorswift13 Taylor Swift 94.5 Musician  United States
10 Increase @NASA NASA 84.8 Space agency  United States

Record-Breaking Moments on X

  • A selfie taken by Ellen DeGeneres at the Academy Awards in March 2014 became the most shared image at the time. It was retweeted over 1.8 million times in just one hour!
  • This record was later broken by Carter Wilkerson in May 2017, who got almost 3.5 million retweets.
  • In January 2019, Yusaku Maezawa broke the record again with 4.4 million retweets for a giveaway announcement.
  • The most posts sent in one second happened on August 2, 2013. During a Japanese movie showing, fans all tweeted the word "balse" at the same time, reaching 143,199 posts in one second!
  • The most talked-about event in X history was on October 24, 2015. A special TV show in the Philippines got 41 million posts using the hashtag "#ALDubEBTamangPanahon."
  • The fastest time to reach one million followers was set by Caitlyn Jenner in June 2015, who gained a million followers in just 4 hours and 3 minutes.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Twitter para niños

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