Tesla CEO Elon Musk challenged Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to a public debate about the Twitter bot percentage. “Let him prove to the public that Twitter has <5% fake or spam daily users!” Elon said on Twitter.
I hereby challenge @paraga to a public debate about the Twitter bot percentage.
Let him prove to the public that Twitter has <5% fake or spam daily users!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2022
This was a response to his thoughts on Andrea Stroppa’s recent thread on Twitter, which I mentioned in this article written last night.
Elon Musk polls Twitter users
Elon Musk said that Andrea’s thread was a good summary of the problem. All Twitter needs to do is share how they sample 100 accounts and how they confirmed these to be real. If Twitter is able to do this, then the deal should continue on the original terms.
“However, if it turns out that their SEC filings are materially false, then it should not.”
Elon then tweeted the following poll. So far, the majority of his followers agree that Twitter has a lot of fake and spam users.
Less than 5% of Twitter daily users are fake/spam
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2022
My 2.5¢ on the matter.
I see a lot of bots and spam accounts quite often. In the article I wrote last night, I shared a screenshot I took of verified accounts impersonating Elon Musk while promoting crypto scams.
As someone who has seen Twitter actively suspend users for no reason while allowing these bots and crypto scammers to run amok, I think Elon is doing the right thing by bringing awareness to the bot and fake accounts.
Especially since I was one of those who were wrongfully suspended by Twitter in 2020. This was before my account was verified.
I think that if Twitter can get a handle on the problems plaguing the app and figure out a way to not suspend actual people or shadow ban them, many users would find this an improvement.
Will Parag take Elon up on his offer of an open debate? I doubt it, honestly.
Disclaimer: Johnna is long Tesla.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @JohnnaCrider1
