X open-source algorithm update: weights unchanged, video checks start at 64 likes

ThePeterMick · x · 2026-09-19

The author diffed two new releases of X's open-source algorithm code with Claude and found the scoring weights barely moved.

Key changes

Both releases changed the weights file by exactly one line — the timestamp. Scoring logic is unchanged.
New video moderation: once a video passes 64 likes, an AI compares it against reference frames to detect disguised or spliced explicit content; past 512 likes a deeper version of the same check runs. Flagged posts stop being shown to non-followers.
The check also applies to videos you quote.
X removed the alternative scoring model that sat disabled in the code, leaving exactly one scoring path: a weighted sum of predicted user actions.
The Under the Hood report now shows whether your account or posts were withheld due to a legal demand and from which country, plus the effect (content warning, hidden from non-follower recommendations, hidden from logged-out and underage users).

Action list from the author

Copy-link share remains the single biggest signal at 20.
Originals beat replies and reposts; only originals reach non-followers.
Replies between mutuals go from 5 to 20.
A DM share is worth 5; early likes (1 and 32) unlock reach to strangers.
A second post in the same feed drops to 62%; under 1,000 followers there is a free lift to roughly 16th place.
Native video over 10 seconds is the line for video lists; converting a reader into a follower is worth 4.
A pinned post linking to a poorly rated site labels your account for a week.

Avoid

Hiding anything in a video; quoting videos you haven't watched; chain-replying under big accounts; picking up an account label (it cuts off non-followers entirely); pinning a post pointing at a badly rated site.

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