Posted on 05/15/2022 7:00:59 PM PDT by blam
Elon Musk warned Twitter users that they are “being manipulated” and told them to turn off the platform’s algorithmic newsfeed, coming as the firm’s legal department apparently said he committed a violation of a non-disclosure agreement.
“You are being manipulated by the algorithm in ways you do not realize … Easy to switch back and forth to see the difference,” Musk wrote on Twitter. The Tesla CEO advised other users to switch to seeing the latest Twitter posts immediately by tapping the Twitter home button, tapping the stars button on the upper right of the screen, and selecting “latest tweets.”
Very important to fix your Twitter feed:
1. Tap home button. 2. Tap stars on upper right of screen. 3. Select “Latest tweets”.
You are being manipulated by the algorithm in ways you don’t realize.
Easy to switch back & forth to see the difference.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2022
“I am not suggesting malice in the algorithm, but rather that it is trying to guess what you might want to read and, in doing so, inadvertently manipulate/ amplify your viewpoints without you realizing this is happening,” Musk continued in another post.
Musk announced his intentions to purchase Twitter on April 25 as he criticized the firm’s content moderation policies. Both he and Twitter said that Musk would attempt to purchase the firm for $44 billion, allowing him to take the platform private after the purchase.
But on May 13, the deal appeared to be on thin ice after Musk posted that the agreement was “on hold” after reports said that bots and automated accounts make up fewer than 5 percent of the overall users. Hours later, Musk confirmed that he is still committed to the purchase.
“Twitter (TWTR) legal just called to complain that I violated their NDA by revealing the bot check sample size is 100!” the billionaire wrote on Saturday, referring to a study on bots.
Musk posted early Sunday that he’s not seen any analysis that suggests that bots comprise fewer than 5 percent of Twitter accounts.
He later said that “there is some chance it might be over 90 percent of daily active users.”
Meanwhile, Musk confirmed last week that he would allow President Donald Trump to return to Twitter after the deal is finished, although Trump has said he wouldn’t return to Twitter because he wants to stay on his Truth Social venture.
“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth,” Trump told Fox News in April. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it, and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth.”
“there is some chance it might be over 90 percent of daily active users.”
I don’t understand what this means? Is he saying that 90% of interactions may be with bots?
Unfortunately, I think Elon Musk is looking for a way out of this purchase. Twitter will be the same as it ever was.
Musk may actually reach a lot of Lefties. All they will have left will be their dumb-bunny BLMers and people who don’t know how to turn their phones on and off.
That’s how I took it, and if true that’s freaking unbelievable they’ve gotten away with that. Talk about manipulation.
Someone else posited that it was all an elaborate set up. Offer an astronomical price to get the Board to reluctantly agree, then be “shocked, shocked I say” to learn that the bot count is over 5%. That may get him out of the deal without a breakup payment, and meanwhile shareholders/advertisers sue the heck out of the Board based on them misrepresenting the number of real subscribers - win/win, Twitter goes down in flames.
He is kicking the tires and looking under the hood. Nothing wrong with that. Expose it all .
90% bots would be crazy-— I could see like 30%
Hmm that sounds plausible. He can expose them without putting up any money, he’s a clever guy.
modern bots are so good, you would think you were talking to a real person.
Sort of like being twice stung by the same Scorpion.
90% seems crazy though. were they defrauding their advertisers? Who would even want to post there when you know most of them are just bots?
Possible way out of the purchase…
Short the stock…
Reveal the closer number of bots controlling Twit, other company secrets and cause the market price to drop below his short.
I suspect he's looking to get a lower price by threatening to walk away.
He's like somebody who agrees to purchase a house and when inspection time comes, looks for negatives to try to reduce the agreed-to price.
Man if I could meme I’d have a photo of Musk’s laughing head on a scorpion’s body, saying “you knew what I was when you put me on your back”
The advertiser and shareholder lawsuits will be delicious.
I wonder if Elon’s plan all along was to expose Twitter for the bias product it really has become. I’m waiting for ad buyers to sue if their reach was less than stated. I also think Elon wants to rub SEC’s nose in the incorrect numbers filed over the years by Twitter and SEC’s lack of action.
Hi Real, is Mrs. Person at home with you? Why do you think there are bots here? There are no bots here.
Is it just bots he is looking for or fake accounts? Back 10 years ago or so, I was pumping websites using as many twitter accounts for backlinks as I could. I probably have more than 10 accounts that haven’t been used in 10 years and I was an amateur in the SEO business.
If they include fake accounts, not just robotic accounts(or accounts that reply robotically), then they might uncover some crazy stuff. Like 25+% of all accounts might be fake or “duplicate” for marketing and pumping other websites up.
Just checked, I have 5 personally, but I probably created dozens using SENuke back in the day. Maybe hundreds. Why not they were free right?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.