So, Twitter recently revealed a plan to remove one million fake bot accounts every, single day.
The company announced Wednesday that it will begin removing millions of accounts:
- Bots
- Inactive accounts from users’ follower numbers
- Fake accounts
in all, the update will remove “tens of millions” of accounts from users’ follower number and impact around 6 percent of all follows on Twitter.
WATCH:
All of which begs the question: what the hell are Twitter bots?
What the Hell are Twitter Bots Exactly?
So, I looked it up and it turns out that Twitter bots are automated accounts that can do the exact same things as human beings do on Twitter. Except I picture them singing “I can do everything you can do- better,” while doing it.
For Example:
They can send out tweets, follow users, and even like and retweet postings by others. Which on the surface doesn’t sound nefarious, however in practice, that’s exactly what they are.
So What Are Bots Being Used For?
Spam bots can be programmed to drive traffic to a website for a product or service using fake accounts and reviews.
They can be used to spread political lies and promote messages. Or event disperse links to fake giveaways or financial scams.
Why is Twitter Removing Tens of Millions of Accounts?
After announcing his recent plans to acquire Twitter, Elon Musk said one of his priorities was to force the company to crack down on bots that promote scams involving cryptocurrencies.
Musk has asked Twitter’s executives to share more details on the company’s claim that it keeps the number of automated bots under 5%. Unless it can prove that bots represent less than 5% of the accounts being served ads on the platform, the $44 billion deal might… fly away.
