Fake Accounts: Why Twitter Whistleblower Credits Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s attempted takeover of Twitter is a soap opera. If the grand finale is expected in October with the holding of a trial, one intrigue among the many twists and turns has drawn particular attention: the matter of fake accounts. It is also this disagreement between the billionaire and the social network that led to the completion of the purchase procedure in early July.

Bots, a topic even before formalizing the takeover bid

According to documents transmitted by Twitter to the US financial authorities for several years, the application only accumulates 5% of false accounts. These fake users are mostly “bots”, whose messages are generated automatically. While some are for fun or informational purposes, many are used for political or malicious purposes, particularly in the context of online bullying.

Shortly before formalizing his intention to acquire Twitter, Elon Musk had already warned that bots would be a project that he intended to address seriously. On the platform he had assured: “If our auction is successful, we will defeat the bots that send spam or we will die trying.” And to add: “And we will authenticate all real humans.”

The head of Tesla and SpaceX quickly disputed the advertised 5% share of bots on the platform, believing there was more. These accusations seem consistent with Peiter Zatko’s revelations. This former head of security for the company filed a complaint against Twitter in July, the content of which was revealed on August 23 by CNN and the Washington Post.

“No appetite to properly measure” fake accounts

The hacker, better known as “Mudge”, was recruited by Twitter in 2020 after hacking the accounts of several celebrities on the network. Fired in January 2022, he justifies his dismissal for his attempt to raise awareness of security problems within the company. Previously, he had worked for Google or the United States Department of Defense.

In his complaint, Peiter Zatko mentions, among other things, major security flaws and a false bot hunt within the company. In particular, he explains: “Senior management did not feel like properly measuring the prevalence of bot accounts.” He adds that executives were concerned that accurate measurements of the number of bots on the platform would hurt Twitter’s image and valuation, CNN reports.

A questioning of the Twitter monetization project

In mid-May, Elon Musk called off his acquisition of Twitter. The goal was to take the time to ensure that the company’s calculation methods were accurate. The billionaire already had in mind the monetization of the social network, mainly through advertising. According to him, having more than 5% of bots in the application would question the profitability of his project since advertisers only take into account the ads seen by real Internet users.

Attacked on Twitter in court, Elon Musk struck back. If the company seeks to impose the completion of the sale, the entrepreneur believes that he has been misled about the number of real users of the social network. As of October 17, the Delaware court must examine each of the versions and rule on the merits of each person’s accusations. There is no doubt that the examination of the number of false accounts on Twitter will be one of the especially scrutinized points of the trial.