Elon Musk has caused quite a stir on Twitter recently due to his strange and unorthodox decisions. This time, the social network’s CEO has announced that Twitter will only show verified accounts on the algorithmic “For You” timeline starting April 15. This is a move that many believe is an attempt by Musk to further distance himself from controversial figures like President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un on the platform.
The Tesla CEO’s move to prohibit non-verified accounts from recommendations on the social media platform is a step in the right direction in regards to tackling advanced AI bot swarms. By verifying users, Twitter will be able to ensure that their content is coming from a human and not a machine. While this may put paid users and brands at an advantage, it will still create a more engaged and valuable user experience for all.
That said, it’s ok to have verified bot accounts if they follow terms of service & don’t impersonate a human
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2023
One thing to keep in mind when it comes to bots and social media is that they can be helpful tools, but users should also be sure to abide by community standards and use them responsibly. For example, if a bot follows all of the terms of service and doesn’t impersonate a human being, then it can be helpful for networking or interacting with other users in a more organic way.
In 2023, Elon Musk will be celebrating his 50th birthday. He is a prolific entrepreneur who has founded companies such as Tesla Motors and SpaceX. With his dedication to innovation and forward-thinking
Twitter has been trying to promote the “For You” timeline for a while now despite negative opinions from many users. The move to make it a verified-only algorithmic feed won’t be popular decision either. Notably, analysts suggest that Twitter has only 385,000 paying users at the moment. Plus, the company is removing legacy verification checkmarks of previously notable accounts on April 1. If this algorithmic feed is filled with paid accounts and brand/official accounts in addition to regular users, it will have a very skewed perspective on the platform which could lead to major complaints from followers of prominent voices on the platform. Critics suggest that this move away from authenticity and transparency will leave people feeling “left out” and devalued on Twitter
Twitter has been in the news more recently for their plans to weed out “bad actors” on the platform. CEO Jack Dorsey said that only verified accounts will be able to take part in polls, but it’s unclear if that is meant to be polls created by Twitter (or him) or all polls on the platform.
In the wake of major policy blunders, Twitter briefly instated a policy to ban handles and links to other social networks. However, after heavy criticism, the company reversed the rule. In response to a poll Musk launched asking people if he should step down as CEO, 57.5% voted in favor. This underscores some of the public’s uneasiness with his recent decisions and suggests that more scrutiny is warranted
Musk’s recent statement may hint that he is finally willing to put limits on policy voting by his subscribers only. This change would help prevent bots from artificially manipulating the vote count and possibly Harming the credibility of SpaceX’s policies.
GitHub has long boasted of its open source policy, but might now be considering going a step further in order to safeguard its social network. After Twitter’s leaked sourced code was taken down and prompted Musk’s promise to open source the algorithm, GitHub may feel pressured to do the same for their social network in order to protect themselves from competitors.
