Social media platform X recorded its highest usage ever over the weekend following the US–Israeli military operation against Iran on Saturday, 28 February. The milestone was announced by Elon Musk, who shared a post by X product manager Nikita Bier stating that ‘today was the biggest day on X in history.’
X had previously set its highest usage record on 15 July 2024, recording 417 billion global user-seconds. This number surpassed the previous record of 76 billion US user-seconds and set a new high for user engagement. At the time of writing, no concrete number for the current record has been published.
The record engagement was obviously driven by the US–Israeli joint military operation against Iran, which resulted in the elimination of several high-ranking Iranian government officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who led the country since 1989. Users shared a massive quantity of real-time footage of the bombings and missile strikes, as well as celebrating crowds from Iranian cities.
Since Musk acquired the platform in 2022, X has increasingly become a primary hub for journalists, analysts, and politicians seeking open-source information on ongoing conflicts. Building on its earlier role as a key OSINT environment, it now functions as a live information ecosystem, rapidly aggregating satellite imagery, geolocated videos, and eyewitness footage, allowing both professional groups such as Bellingcat and independent analysts to track developments and verify claims in near real time. Changes introduced under Musk—including algorithmic adjustments and community-driven fact-checking—have further accelerated the speed and scale of information circulation.
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