Twitter removes over a million spam accounts every day

Twitter has announced that it is currently removing a million bots every day to keep its platform safe.

Bots in this context are malicious or spam accounts, fake identities (opens in new tab) that leave meaningless comments on people’s tweets or are used to promote an account or website.

In some cases, bots are used to spread ransomware (opens in new tab)or other forms of malware.

Eliminate bots or die trying

The news was confirmed by Twitter executives, reported by Reuters, and comes as Elon Musk, the eccentric billionaire and CEO of Tesla/SpaceX/StarLink/Boring Company, calls for more transparency while trying to finalize a potential takeover.

Musk has asked Twitter executives to share more details on the company’s claim that it keeps automated bots below 5%. Unless bots can be shown to make up less than 5% of the accounts served ads on the platform, the $44 billion deal could fall through. Reuters remind.

Still, during the conference call with press, Twitter executives said spam accounts make up less than 5% of the company’s user base, a number that’s more or less stayed the same since 2013.

Twitter manually analyzes accounts to determine whether or not they have real human users or are run by programs. It then uses a combination of public and private data to compile reports for its shareholders, informing them of the number of spam bots on the platform, Twitter explained.

The company also said that due to the nature of the data needed for such analysis, there is no way for an outside auditor to analyze the platform. It didn’t want to say what kind of data it will provide to the potential buyer.

At the same time, Musk said that once he acquires the platform, he will work to defeat the spam bots “or die trying.”

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Above: Reuters (opens in new tab)

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