Title: X, Formerly Known as Twitter, Struggles to Tackle Verified Bot Problem
In a recent development, X, previously known as Twitter, is facing a growing predicament with verified bots on its platform. This issue comes despite Elon Musk’s suggestion that charging users for verification would help eliminate bots from the site. A video shared on Instagram Threads by Parker Molloy, a respected Chicago-based writer, highlights the prevalence of verified bots posting the same programmed response: “I’m sorry, I cannot provide a response as it goes against OpenAI’s use case policy.”
According to the video, in which Molloy refers to Twitter as a “ghost town,” the platform seems to be inundated with automated accounts. One comment on the video speculates that these bots may even be generated by X itself, utilizing older, inactive accounts that have been transformed into verified bots using artificial intelligence.
Interestingly, several of these bot accounts appear to have been created years ago, as indicated by their join dates displayed on their profiles. This raises further questions about the extent of the bot problem X faces.
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and CEO, is also making headlines related to Twitter. He is currently suing Media Matters, an organization, alleging defamation after they published an article revealing ads displayed alongside hate speech on the platform. However, Musk’s focus on addressing the bot issue when he acquired the social network seems to have fallen short in effectively curbing the problem.
It is important to note that the bot predicament isn’t solely confined to artificially intelligent accounts. Many bot accounts and bot farms operate independently, without the assistance of OpenAI, making it increasingly challenging to detect them on the platform.
Although X introduced new direct message settings last summer to combat spam from verified accounts, these efforts have not effectively eradicated the presence of spammers. This recent development raises doubts about the efficacy of paid verification alone in addressing X’s bot-related issues.
Despite claiming to have 550 million monthly users, neither Musk nor X CEO Linda Yaccarino have provided clarification on whether this figure includes bot accounts in their metrics. In light of these unanswered questions, concerned users and experts are eagerly awaiting a response from the company regarding this pressing matter.
As the issue of verified bots continues to persist on X, discussions about the future of the platform are gaining traction.
