Experts back Elon Musk over Twitter bots

Twitter is facing renewed pressure to clarify how many of its accounts are fake as a leading academic backed Elon Musk’s questioning of the social media site’s claims.

Elon Musk threw his $US44bn ($63bn) deal to buy Twitter into disarray on Friday by saying the proposed takeover was ‘on hold’ until he could determine if the portion of fake accounts (or bots) was less than 5 per cent, as Twitter has claimed. PIcture: AFP

Twitter is facing renewed pressure to clarify how many of its accounts are fake as a leading academic backed Elon Musk’s questioning of the social media site’s claims.

The world’s richest man threw his $US44bn ($63bn) deal to buy Twitter into disarray on Friday by saying the proposed takeover was “on hold” until he could determine if the portion of fake accounts (or bots) was less than 5 per cent, as Twitter has claimed.

Bots — automated accounts, often with fake names — can disseminate misinformation. If the proportion of fakes is higher than the company’s estimate it could reduce the platform’s value, as it means there are fewer real users viewing advertisements on the site.

Musk later tweeted that his team would take “a random sample of 100 followers” of the official Twitter account to test the estimates, and said his 92 million followers could help “crowdsource a good answer” as to the number of bots.

An analysis of Musk’s Twitter account followers using his methodology found 43 per cent were bots. Other accounts had only 4 per cent.

Kathleen Carley, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, said her team’s research estimated the total number of bots on Twitter to be between 15 and 20 per cent, adding that “in general there are more bots — and posts by bots — around”.

The timing of Musk’s move to pause the deal prompted speculation that he is simply looking to negotiate a lower price or to pull out altogether, despite his insistence in a subsequent tweet that he was “still committed”.

Twitter ended the week with a valuation of $US31bn — or $US13bn less than Musk has offered.

The Tesla tycoon waived due diligence when he signed the takeover and has agreed to a $US1bn break-up fee if he chooses to walk away.

The Sunday Times