Since 2013, Twitter has underestimated the prevalence of fake accounts on its platform, believing that “false or spam” accounts make up less than 5 percent of its user base, although independent researchers said the number tripled. Could be more. That discrepancy may now affect the outcome of Elon Musk’s $44 billion cash deal after the billionaire tweeted on Friday that the takeover bid was “temporarily on hold” while he blamed the number of fake Twitter accounts. Information was sought about
While this may be little more than a negotiating strategy by Musk, what is clear is that almost nothing is certain about how these accounts are defined or removed, according to current employees and independent social media researchers.
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The social media platform said in a May 2 public filing that less than 5 percent of its 229 million daily active users, which are targeted with advertising, are “false or spam” based on an internal review of a sample of its accounts. It did not specify how this figure is responsible for the automated, parody and pseudonymous profiles allowed on the platform.
Twitter did not respond to requests for comment.
Researchers estimate that 9 percent to 15 percent of millions of Twitter profiles are automated accounts or bots, based on a preliminary study from 2017 and recent research from a firm that tracks online conversations.
“They underestimated that number,” said Dan Brahmi, CEO of Cybra, an Israeli tech company that uses machine learning to identify fake accounts.
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Cybra estimates the percentage of unauthenticated Twitter profiles to be 13.7 percent. Questions about the role of bots in spreading misinformation have engulfed all social media platforms since 2016, when Russia interfered in the US presidential election to promote Donald Trump’s candidacy and harm its rival Hillary Clinton.
Meta, which owns competing platforms Facebook and Instagram, estimates that fake accounts represent about 5 percent of monthly active users on Facebook, according to the most recent figures for the fourth quarter of 2021. Meta also estimates that about 11 percent are “duplicates.” Accounts in which a single user maintains more than one account, a practice considered acceptable on Twitter.
Twitter’s rules bar impersonation and spam, meaning “fake” accounts are banned if the company determines that their purpose is to “deceive or manipulate others”, for example, engaging in scams. Being, coordinating abuse campaigns or artificially increasing engagement.
clearing spam
Over the years, Twitter has invested in removing spam accounts. In 2018, Twitter acquired a company called Smyte, which is specialized in spam prevention, protection and security. Twitter removed “spammy and suspicious accounts” in an effort to improve the health of the platform, which led to a 1 million drop in its user base and a drop in its stock in July 2018.
Filippo Menzer, a researcher at the Indiana University’s Observatory on Social Media, said Twitter has become more aggressive in removing these types of unauthenticated accounts, although the nature of the threat is evolving and difficult to quantify.
“Manipulation has also become more sophisticated,” with coordinated networks and so-called cyber accounts controlled by both humans and software, Menzer said, adding that these bad actors “can flood networks and then evade detection.” You can remove your content.
According to the researchers, even if the number is really small, bots can have an outsized influence, and a handful of people can have a big influence in shaping online conversations.
A study by Carnegie Mellon University analyzing the spread of COVID-19 lies in 2020 found that 82% of the top 50 influential retweets were bots.
Inside Twitter, measuring and detecting false or spam accounts is a complex problem that is not well defined or understood by many of the company’s own employees, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity. .
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One of those sources said Twitter uses different metrics and definitions to measure such accounts, which are also dependent on the company’s accuracy in detecting content that constitutes spam. The challenge also lies in its ability to accurately predict the number of fake and spam accounts – and new accounts are always being created, the source said.
Blaming the unorganized management, another source said, “Metrics and data transparency on Twitter has always been poor.” “Plausible denial has been the safest route for Twitter leadership.”
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