In a series of recent updates, Elon Musk’s social media platform It said it would reinstate the blue verification checkmark for some users.
quartz report X/Twitter owner Elon Musk announced Thursday that systems to remove bots and trolls from the site are “in progress.” In a post on the platform, Musk said that if there are any legitimate accounts that were inadvertently suspended during this process, please report them by replying to the post or by contacting @XEng, the official account for X’s product and infrastructure team. asked users to do so.
A system purge of bots and trolls is underway.
Please reply or @XEng If your legitimate account is suspended.
Company X plans to pursue those responsible and use full legal enforcement.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2024
X/Twitter’s safety team said the effort is part of a broader effort to make the platform a “better, safer space for everyone.” The team is “casting a wide net to ensure X is secure and free of bots,” and that this proactive approach helps remove accounts that violate the platform’s rules against manipulation and spam. emphasized.
Users have complained about the increasing presence of bots on the platform, many of which have been “verified” by X/Twitter. These automated accounts often reply to posts with irrelevant or meaningless content, making it difficult for users to find genuine replies from real people.
As Breitbart News recently reported, the platform has a significant porn problem that also involves bots.
According to John Herman, new york magazine, one particularly viral post on X includes the phrase “cat in bio,” which often leads users to simple scams. These posts are frequently generated by porn spambots and lure lonely individuals to follow a series of links, promising to connect with local singles. The ease with which such scams spread on the platform highlights X/Twitter’s inability to effectively combat this problem at scale.
Beyond the “PIB” scam, X has become a haven for OnlyFans creators looking to promote themselves. Even before Musk’s acquisition, Twitter had a permissive content policy that allowed pornography if it was properly labeled and restricted from certain high-profile areas, but the current situation with X/Twitter It’s escalating. Herrman reports that the platform is currently flooded with posts promoting OnlyFans agencies. The agencies are essentially OnlyFans creator accounts staffed by call center employees who pretend to be real people and operate in a similar fashion to cheating sites.
At the same time as the crackdown on bots, X/Twitter began reinstating the blue checkmark on some accounts without having to pay an $8 monthly subscription fee. Before Musk acquired the platform in October 2022, public figures, organizations and other prominent accounts could apply for verification for free. The company was notorious for using verification as a weapon against conservatives and in support of the left. However, after the takeover, only paying subscribers could hold blue checks.
Starting late Wednesday, some users were deemed “influential members of the community” and received a free premium subscription along with a reinstated blue checkmark. Musk said accounts with 2,500 or more verified subscriber followers will receive a free blue check and premium features, while accounts with 5,000 or more subscriber followers will receive a free $16 monthly Premium+ subscription. He said that it would be granted.
Several prominent users took to X/Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the restored blue checks. Community actor Yvette Nicole Brown wrote: I didn’t pay for this. I would never pay for this. ” Similarly, Oscar nominee Jeffrey Wright also shared a screenshot of the notification he received about his free subscription and sarcastically commented: just kidding. help me. But please don’t speak too freely about me or my Tower of Babel garbage site. ”
Wire creator David Simon had a particularly candid response, saying: Does anyone know how to make this shit disappear? Interestingly, Simon’s checkmark was quickly removed.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
