Elon Musk has announced the next phase of his push to implement monetized Twitter verification checkmark. The app’s chief executive said starting April 15, Twitter algorithm will only show verified accounts on the “For You” timeline.
The latest move is geared toward ensuring equality and fighting potential influx of advanced AI-powered bots that can beat “prove you’re not a robot” tests. Musk has touted paid verification as an ideal way to keep bots, which have been a major concern for him, out of Twitter.
“Given that modern AI can solve any “prove you’re not a robot” tests, it’s now trivial to spin up 100k human-like bots for less than a penny per account,” he said. “Paid verification increases bot cost by ~10,000% & makes it much easier to identify bots by phone & CC clustering.”
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That said, it’s ok to have verified bot accounts if they follow terms of service & don’t impersonate a human
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 28, 2023
Musk who argued that the verification checkmark is the “only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over,” added that “it’s ok to have verified bot accounts if they follow terms of service & don’t impersonate a human.”
Besides increased visibility, Twitter will hence, allow only verified accounts to participate in polls. With these privileges, Musk admitted that “paid account social media will be the only social media that matters.”
While Musk is keen to eliminate legacy verification, he said accounts attached to verified organizations will be automatically verified.
Twitter’s “For You” feature has become a key way to give posts a wider reach. Musk is believed to have integrated it into monetized blue check in a bid to woo users to subscribe for paid verification. This means that you have to be a paid user, a brand, or a government official to be recommended by Twitter’s algorithm.
Twitter’s struggle with depleted revenue has aggravated since Musk purchased the platform in late October. Musk’s acquisition of the social media company triggered mass exodus of advertisers, plummeting its earnings. Twitter generates about 90 percent of its revenue from ads.
Though he is hopeful for a comeback that will see Twitter sit at $250 billion value, the Tesla CEO told employees in an internal email that the microblogging app is now valued at $20 billion, less than half the $44 billion he paid for it.
The paid verification checkmark is likely going to be embraced more by brands and accounts seeking wider reach. Analysts suggest that Twitter has only 385,000 paying users at the moment.
The company said it will remove all legacy verification checkmarks starting April 1. But several users have criticized the decision, saying it defeats the objective, which is to distinguish real account owners from impersonators.
Musk said the new idea is “more about treating everyone equally” and that “there shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities.”
To curb the likelihood of impersonation, Twitter ruled that you have to verify your identity to have a subscription. Meta is another social media platform that has adopted the idea – rolling out paid verification feature that will boost the reach of subscribers.
However, Musk may be forced to recruit more workers as pressure piles on Twitter to abide by European Union laws that requires that social media platforms have content moderation teams. Musk disbanded Twitter’s content moderation team last year as part of his efforts to cut cost and promote free speech. It’s part of the reasons advertisers left Twitter.