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X Appears to Be Nudging Users to Pay to Promote Posts With a Giant Hand Graphic

X Appears to Be Nudging Users to Pay to Promote Posts With a Giant Hand Graphic

X is displaying a large pointing hand directing users to the Promote button while composing posts.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Rohan Pal | Updated: 27 October 2026 20:01 IST

X Appears to Be Nudging Users to Pay to Promote Posts With a Giant Hand Graphic

Photo Credit: Reuters

The new prompt has been spotted by multiple X users over the past day

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Highlights

X has introduced a new on-screen prompt
The feature displays a large pointing hand on the screen
X has yet to publicly explain the change

Social media platform X started showing a new graphic element for some users. Select users on the platform are seeing the prompt when composing posts, and it is directing them to the Promote button, which is a paid feature used to reach more people on the platform. The Elon Musk-led company has yet to give an official explanation for the new on-screen prompt, drawing confusion and criticism from users. Few users believe that it is a Halloween prank.

X Adds Pointing Hand Prompt to Promote Posts

Multiple X users have reported that they are seeing a pointing hand next to its "promote" button while they write posts. Many users shared screenshots of this on the platform. The prompt appears to be visible to select users. The company may be testing it with a limited audience.

X Discussion

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I just went to write a tweet and a massive hand popped up pointing to the promote button 😵‍💫 https://t.co/cLPP5pNaNP
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 26, 2026

The latest feature shows a large, prominent pointing hand on the screen, encouraging users to consider promoting their content. X has yet to publicly announce this change, but it seems to be an effort to get users to pay to increase the visibility of their posts. Users speculate that the unusual graphic could be intended as a prank as part of Halloween. Some users say that the new feature is scary.

I wish I could explain how jarring this hand and animation was in the @X app. It was truly shocking, almost like a Halloween gag, but I'm pretty sure it was real. I guess I see the promote button now. https://t.co/aVX3oGFBwh
— Jesse Middleton (@srcasm) October 26, 2026

X's New Prompt Appears as the company is changing its product leadership. Elon Musk-led company earlier this week announced that Peter Sellis, formerly associated with product roles at Snap and Discord, will take over as the platform's product chief. Sellis succeeds Nikita Bier, who left X in August after serving as its head of product. Bier had been associated with many product and growth initiatives on the platform.

X's Promote feature allows users to pay to increase the reach of their posts beyond their existing audience. It lets users turn top-performing content into ads in a few clicks. Increase reach and engagement.

Comments

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Further reading: X, Promote, X Promote

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More