Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Elon Musk wants a 25% discount on his Twitter bid if 25% of Twitter's users are spam bots - are they?

Elon Musk wants a 25% discount on his Twitter bid if 25% of Twitter's users are spam bots - are they?

The billionaire, who claims to be spending less than 5% of his time on the $44bn takeover, has made a number of comments in recent weeks criticising Twitter - and has clashed with its chief executive over how the bot count is established.

Elon Musk has expressed support for receiving a discount on his Twitter bid equal to the percentage of users who are spam bots.

The billionaire, who claims to be spending less than 5% of his time on the $44bn takeover, has made a number of comments in recent weeks criticising Twitter and its management team.

Mr Musk recently said the acquisition was temporarily on hold as he wanted to confirm the company's own figures that accounts not operated by real humans represented less than 5% of users.

Responding to the suggestion that "if 25% of the users are bots then the Twitter acquisition deal should cost 25% less" he wrote: "Absolutely."


So what is the argument really about?


Mr Musk has claimed that much higher than 20% of accounts on Twitter could be "fake/spam" and said that his offer to acquire the company was based on Twitter's own reports being accurate.

He criticised Parag Agrawal, Twitter's chief executive, for publicly refusing "to show proof" that less than 5% of accounts were "fake/spam" and wrote that he was "worried that Twitter has a disincentive to reduce spam, as it reduces perceived daily users".

Mr Agrawal had written a fifteen-post thread denying this incentive and explaining that Twitter actively attempts to reduce spam accounts; suspending over half a million spam accounts every day and locking millions of accounts each week that can't pass human verification challenges.

The chief executive did not point out that if Mr Musk is to receive a discount on his bid proportionate to the number of user accounts that are considered "fake/spam" then Mr Musk himself is incentivised to inflate that figure.

Musk replied with a pile of poo emoji and asked: "So how do advertisers know what they're getting for their money? This is fundamental to the financial health of Twitter."

Mr Musk proposed users conduct their own test to see if they could see if accounts were authentic or not, although Twitter cautioned that it was not possible for external observers to identify whether an account was run authentically by a human or was either automated or part of a platform manipulation campaign.

Twitter shares below the level seen in early April when Musk first revealed his Twitter stake


In an official blog post the company said: "We permanently suspend millions of accounts every month that are automated or spammy, and we do this before they ever reach an eyeball in a Twitter Timeline or Search."

But this captures two different kinds of fake account, one of which is a bot - a completely automated account - which is not banned on Twitter, as well as inauthentic accounts designed to contribute to manipulating the platform.

The bot account @pentametron for instance attempts to automatically identify and retweet any messages that are written in iambic pentameter without any human intervention. It is a bot but it is openly one and is not "fake".

"The hard challenge is that many accounts which look fake superficially - are actually real people," warned Mr Agrawal, noting that just because an account has a platform-generated username and profile picture that does not mean it is not being operated by a real person.

"And some of the spam accounts which are actually the most dangerous - and cause the most harm to our users - can look totally legitimate on the surface," he added.

Twitter has previously identified and banned more than 23,000 fake accounts operated by real humans connected to the Chinese Communist Party as part of a propaganda network.

Musk appears to be using the issue as a way to force down the agreed price for the takeover - with Twitter's shares suffering amid the acrimony being played out in public.

The company signalled last week that it would not look to backtrack on the $44bn price through a statement filed with the SEC which said: "Twitter is committed to completing the transaction on the agreed price and terms as promptly as practicable."

Musk told a conference in Miami last Monday: "You can't pay the same price for something that is much worse than they claimed. The more questions I ask, the more my concerns grow.

"They claim that they've got this complex methodology that only they can understand... It can't be some deep mystery that is, like, more complex than the human soul or something like that."

Mr Agrawal said: "Our estimate is based on multiple human reviews (in replicate) of thousands of accounts, that are sampled at random, consistently over time, from accounts we count as [daily active users]. We do this every quarter, and we have been doing this for many years.

"Our actual internal estimates for the last four quarters were all well under 5% - based on the methodology outlined above. The error margins on our estimates give us confidence in our public statements each quarter," he added.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
×