You're Not Shadowbanned—You Just Don't Understand 𝕏’s Algorithms

Stop complaining about censorship—here's your roadmap to visibility on X (formerly Twitter).

May 02, 2025

What if growth on X wasn’t about luck—but about understanding the system?

If you’ve ever felt like your content is invisible, it’s probably because you haven’t fully grasped how X’s algorithms actually function. Most creators don’t. They post and pray—then blame the algorithm.

But the top 1% do something different: they build strategically—using the very system most people complain about.

Why the Algorithm Is Everything

In 2023, X open-sourced major parts of its recommendation algorithm. That transparency gave creators something priceless: a clear blueprint for how to grow.

This newsletter breaks it all down—from how posts are retrieved and ranked to what makes your content spread… or die in silence.

Let’s start with what fuels the “For You” feed.

Step 1: Retrieval – What Even Gets Considered?

Each time you log in, X fetches ~1,500 posts that it thinks you might like.

They come from:

In-network (accounts you follow): ~50%
Out-of-network (accounts you don’t follow): ~50%

Your Real Graph score—based on likes, replies, reposts, profile visits, DMs, and clicks—determines if your posts appear in your followers’ feeds.

Out-of-network posts come from:

Social graph (~30%): What your mutuals engage with
Clusters (~70%): X groups users by shared interests (think Elon, Trump, NFL, AI, Swifties, crypto, etc.)

The key principle to understand is this: you don’t need a large following to reach a large audience—if you post content that aligns with popular clusters.

Step 2: Ranking – How You Compete

Posts are ranked by how likely you are to engage. The more valuable the engagement, the heavier the weight:

Like = 0.5x
Repost = 1x
Watching a video >2 min = 11x
Clicking profile → liking or replying = 12x
Reply = 27x
Conversation back-and-forth = up to 75x

The more your post drives these high-weight actions, the higher it ranks.

Replies, profile clicks, and time-on-post are rocket fuel for visibility.

The specific weights may change over time, but the core principle remains: more engagement = more views.

Step 3: Filtering – What Gets Cut

Before you see those top posts, X trims the list. It removes:

Posts from users you’ve blocked, muted, or content you’ve already seen
Too many posts from one user (diversity filter)
Posts with low social proof (e.g., no mutuals follow or engage)
All but the first tweet in a thread (for context)

Filtering keeps your feed relevant and engaging.

Step 4: Mixing – What You See

Finally, the top content is mixed with:

Sponsored ads
Platform prompts
Creator recommendations

If your content isn’t being retrieved or doesn’t survive ranking—it’s game over.

Want to Get Picked Up by the Algorithm?

Here’s what to do:

✅ Focus your content on popular Clusters (Elon, Trump, AI)

✅ Post popular, polarizing, or trending content (engagement magnets)

✅ Engage with top followers to boost your Real Graph (DMs, replies, reposts, tags)
✅ Create content that gets clicked (“show more”, video, images)
✅ Post 2+ min videos with long captions (view time, clicks)
✅ Reply to top comments

Real Graph + Clusters = Visibility

Real Graph = Your followers you directly engage with (DMs, likes, reposts, replies, tags)
Clusters = What your content is about + who it attracts

Build both strategically to improve visibility. Create threads tagging relevant accounts. Engage your top followers in real conversations.

Post authentically. Reply thoughtfully.

Check Which Clusters You’re In

You can see which clusters X thinks you belong to:
Settings → Privacy & Safety → Content You See → Topics & Interests

Clean up the ones that don’t fit. Follow the ones that do. That improves your “For You” page.

Then consistently post content that aligns with those clusters.

Remember ~70% of out-of-network recommendations come from clusters, so even with a small account, you can still get a lot of views by focusing your content on popular clusters.

Uncheck the box that says “Display media that may contain sensitive content.” Stop posting or engaging with sensitive content. This will improve your TweepCred score, which we’ll cover next.

TweepCred: The Invisible Ranking Algorithm

X also runs a hidden influence score called TweepCred—based on Google’s PageRank algorithm.

Just like PageRank scores websites based on links from high-authority sources, TweepCred scores your account based on the quality and credibility of your interactions.

It’s about who engages with you, how often, and how reputable they are.

What helps:

✅ Older account age
✅ High follower count
✅ High follower-to-following ratio
✅ Verified status (Premium+ = boost)
✅ Engagement from high-TweepCred users

What hurts:

❌ Talking to flagged accounts, bots, or trolls
❌ Spammy comments, replies, or DMs
❌ Interactions buried under “Show More Replies”
❌ Posting or engaging with sensitive content

High TweepCred = full visibility.
Low TweepCred = quiet suppression.

If your reach suddenly plummets, your TweepCred score likely dropped too low.

Build your credibility in your network, and the Tweepcred algorithm will build your reach.

Want to Turbocharge Your Real Graph and TweepCred Score?

Focus on building genuine relationships with influential accounts through public interactions—likes, reposts, comments, and tags.

No one does this better than my friend The Vigilant Fox. He consistently creates threads that spotlight friends and influential accounts in his network. When he shares a video or article, he follows up with a post promoting the person behind it.

In turn, these accounts—many of whom follow him—respond with likes, replies, and reposts. That strategic cycle of interaction dramatically boosts his Real Graph and TweepCred scores—while genuinely promoting voices he believes in.

Follow his example to grow fast.

The X Accelerator: Learn to Play the Game

Before you go, here are 10 rules that summarize everything above:

Post 2-minute videos with long captions
Use media-rich threads with images and video
Improve your follower-to-following ratio
Get Premium Plus + verified badge
Pin a fresh post every 48 hours
Engage with high-rep accounts
Avoid trolls, bots, or flagged accounts
Limit external links—put them in replies
Avoid spam, profanity, or sensitive content
Post popular, polarizing, or trending content that drives discussion

Want to Grow and Monetize your 𝕏 Account?

Inside The X Accelerator, I teach creators the exact content system I used to grow 1M+ followers, 5.5B impressions, and earn $217K in 2 years on 𝕏.

This isn’t theory.

It’s strategy + execution built on deep knowledge of the platform.

👉 Join 1,300+ creators in The X Accelerator

🎯 Use code KTG20 at checkout for 20% off (48 hours only)

Let’s make 𝕏’s algorithms work for you.