News story tweet skill

ByBradley Keoun
PublishedOctober 16, 2026 at 5:02 PM
5 min read

A published story needs a social post that gives readers a reason to click and credits the people behind the news. Finding the right accounts and fitting them into a short post can take longer than writing the copy.

news-story-tweet drafts an X post from a published news story, leads with its strongest verified news hook and checks the handles of central participants. It keeps the main post within 280 characters and provides a first reply when the link or additional tags belong there.

What you'll need

  • The story text or access to its URL.
  • Browsing or story-reading tools to read linked sources and verify X handles.

What it does

  • Reads the story for the news peg, key numbers, attribution and authors.
  • Prioritizes the subject, publication, co-author and decisive participants for tags.
  • Verifies handles rather than guessing from names.
  • Aims for three to five relevant tags across the main post and first reply.
  • Preserves accurate co-author credit, using a plain name if a handle cannot be verified.
  • Produces one main post plus a first reply when needed.
  • Drafts copy only. Posting requires a separate request.

Install the skill

Ask Claude:

"Please fetch the news-story-tweet skill from Distro Skills and give me a .skill file I can install."

Claude will pull this story, extract the SKILL.md from the fenced block below and package it as news-story-tweet.skill. The file will appear in your chat with a Save skill button — click it to install directly. That registers the skill with your Claude app so it shows up in your skills list and triggers on matching requests.

Requires the Distro Reader or Distro Publisher MCP connected so Claude can pull the story.

Claude Code users: Ask Claude to drop the unzipped folder into ~/.claude/skills/news-story-tweet/ and restart the session. No packaging step needed.

No Distro MCP connected? Copy the SKILL.md contents from the fenced block below into a file called SKILL.md inside a folder called news-story-tweet, zip it with that folder as the zip root and upload through Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill.

Codex users: The source is a standard SKILL.md file. Use the skill installation method supported by your Codex app.

The skill source

This is the canonical SKILL.md:

---
name: news-story-tweet
description: Use when drafting a tweet or X post to promote a published news story, especially when the user wants the story's companies, people, co-authors, publication, investors, or partners tagged automatically.
---

# News Story Tweet

## Outcome

Produce publication-ready social copy that leads with the strongest verified news hook and tags the people and organizations central to the story. Draft only; do not post unless separately asked.

## Workflow

1. Read the story or authorized source material to identify the news peg, key numbers, status, attribution, authors, publication, and major participants. Use appropriate story-reading or browsing capabilities for URLs.
2. Identify candidate tags by editorial importance:
   - primary subject: the company, project, organization, or person at the center;
   - publication and named co-authors;
   - decisive participants: CEO or announcer, acquirer, lead investor, regulator, or principal partner;
   - secondary investors or partners only when they materially improve discovery.
3. Verify handles through an official website, official X profile, or reliable public reference linking identity to handle. Never infer from a name or reuse a similarly named account. If the user names a co-author, credit that person only; never substitute a different author whose handle is easier to verify.
4. Draft the main post at 280 characters or fewer. Lead with the news, not throat-clearing. Include the essential tags naturally in the prose.
5. When the URL belongs in a comment or reply, keep it out of the main post and provide a first reply with the URL and useful overflow tags.

## Tagging Contract

Aim for 3–5 relevant tags across the main post and first reply unless the user requests otherwise.

| Placement | Priority |
|---|---|
| Main post | Primary subject, publication, co-author, and at most one decisive participant when space permits |
| First reply | Story URL, lead investor or partner, and other genuinely central participants |

Prefer a clean post over a tag wall. Do not tag every participant in a long funding syndicate. If an important handle cannot be verified, use the plain name and flag the uncertainty outside the copy.

## Output Contract

Return one best version in a `social_post` writing block. Put a needed first reply in a second block. Keep explanations outside and mention only meaningful handle uncertainty or factual caveats.

Before delivery, check:

- Main post is no more than 280 characters.
- Every factual claim is supported by the story or a reliable source.
- Every `@handle` is verified and represents an entity named or materially involved in the story.
- Every named co-author is credited accurately; an unverified handle remains plain text rather than being replaced.
- Major players are represented without spammy over-tagging.
- The link is placed where requested.

When to use

  • Promoting a published news story on X.
  • Crediting a publication or co-author in social copy.
  • Including verified tags for the story's main participants.

When not to use

  • Turning an X post into a news story. Use the X post story skill for that task.
  • Publishing directly to X without a separate posting request.

Feedback

Version not specified in the source. Suggestions → reply or ping Bradley Keoun.

Distro Skills