Twitter replaces its Moments tab with Explore feature to bring trends, search and live video together

Twitter Moments is curated by a team of journalists and was first launched in 2015 to present stories in a way that made it easy for anyone unfamiliar with the platform to follow trends across categories like sports, entertainment and more serious stories.

It will now be incorporated into the Explore sections of Twitter's app, mobile and desktop site, sitting underneath real-time broadcasts and a list of trending topics.

The social network initially toyed with the tab in October last year, with a spokesman saying the move would put "content discovery" front and centre.

"As part of our continued efforts to make it easier to find what’s happening on Twitter, we’re testing a new tab for content discovery," the company said at the time.

The permanent move was confirmed today (26 January) by Twitter designer Angela Lam. In a blog post, she was keen to stress that Moments isn't disappearing altogether, and that the platform just wanted to simplify the way it presented popular and timely content to users.

The move falls in line with Twitter's desire to be seen as the place to go for breaking news and coverage of live events, highlighted last year by the site's new 'See What's Happening' ethos.

Earlier this week, The Drum reported that Twitter was breaking news off-platform via Instagram's Stories format, sharing tweets relating to events like the Oscars and the Women's March on Washington.

Jerry Daykin, global digital partner at Carat said of the move: "It could be seen simply as a way of drawing more people into Twitter, but it hints at a world where Twitter is a news brand in itself, communicating across a range of channels including its own."

The move to Explore also comes as Twitter continues to tout its live-streaming capabilities following a slew of deals with the likes of Bloomberg and the NFL in 2016.