Twitter is taking drastic measures to address its ongoing bot problem. The social media platform recently announced that it had temporarily limited usage in order to detect and remove spam and harmful bots. This decision came after Twitter faced criticism for its handling of the bot issue, which has plagued the platform for years. However, some argue that Twitter’s approach should involve verifying all users, a proposal that was previously suggested by Elon Musk.
Just a few days ago, Twitter restricted the number of tweets users could see, leading to confusion and frustration among its user base. The company explained that this measure was necessary to tackle the long-standing problem of bots and ensure the authenticity of its user base. Twitter clarified that providing advance notice of these actions would have allowed bad actors to modify their behavior to evade detection.
Elon Musk, who had previously handed out blue checks to select Twitter users, might need to consider extending this privilege to all users. The blue check verification system, which was once described as a lords and peasants system by Musk, was meant to address the issue of authenticity. However, Twitter’s decision to introduce a new subscription-based service called Twitter Blue, which requires users to pay a monthly fee, has derailed the effectiveness of the blue check system.
The prevalence of bots on Twitter continues to be a significant problem. The platform’s reluctance to verify every account, despite evidence suggesting that it would help tackle issues like data scraping and manipulative behavior, is frustrating for users. Twitter seems more willing to impede its own functionality rather than acknowledge that users should not have to pay for fundamental features that the platform should provide.
Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino has emphasized the importance of authenticity and has described the recent decision to rate limit tweets as a meaningful and ongoing effort to safeguard the platform’s user base. This authenticity will become even more crucial as Yaccarino and Musk work towards transforming Twitter into a reliable real-time information source and a global communication hub, referred to as Twitter 2.0.
Verifying every account on Twitter would be a crucial step in achieving this vision. However, Musk’s controversial online behavior, combined with Twitter’s occasional outages and unpopular changes to beloved services, has diminished the appeal of obtaining a blue check verification. According to reports, only around 4% of people who visited the Twitter Blue sales site ended up subscribing to the service. Encouraging a significant proportion of users, let alone all users, to pay for verification seems unlikely.
Nevertheless, achieving authenticity and maintaining Twitter’s status as a reliable information source is crucial. Yaccarino has made it clear that this is not an empty promise and that verifying everyone’s account is the first step towards fulfilling this goal. As Twitter continues to tackle its bot problem and strives for improvement, ensuring the authenticity of its user base should be a priority.
