Elon Musk says Twitter will Only Show Verified Accounts on its Algorithmic Timeline

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Elon Musk says Twitter will Only Show Verified Accounts on its Algorithmic Timeline
29 Mar 2023
7 min read

News Synopsis

Elon Musk says Twitter will only show verified accounts on its algorithmic timeline starting April 15, in an effort to address the issue of advanced AI bot swarms taking over the social media platform. This decision is expected to affect recommendations on the “For You” timeline, and it has been met with mixed reactions from Twitter users.
Twitter has been promoting the “For You” timeline for some time now, despite receiving negative feedback from many users. The move to make it a verified-only algorithmic feed won’t be a popular decision either. Analysts suggest that Twitter has only 385,000 paying users at the moment.

The company is removing legacy verification checkmarks from previously notable accounts on April 1, so the algorithmic feed will be filled by paid accounts in addition to brands and officials’ accounts, which may make it a very skewed timeline for people who follow a variety of accounts.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has been known to make strange decisions on Twitter. Last year, Twitter briefly instated a policy to ban handles and links to other social networks like Facebook and Instagram. The move backfired, and after heavy criticism, the company reversed the rule.

At that time, Musk said that every major policy decision would go through a poll (Spoiler: it hasn’t). Soon after, he launched a poll asking people if he should step down as a CEO. By the end of it, 57.5% voted in favor.
After these events, several people suggested that bots accounted for a lot of these votes.
At that time, Musk took note of a user suggestion to limit policy voting to only paying subscribers. It looks like he’s finally implementing this change.

Elon Musk's decision to limit Twitter's algorithmic timeline to verified accounts only has sparked a debate among Twitter users. While some applaud the move as a way to reduce the influence of bots, others argue that it is an unfair advantage for verified accounts, and that it may limit diversity of opinions on the platform.

Musk clarified that “verified” bots that don’t impersonate humans would still be eligible to be shown on the “For You” timeline. This means that only verified accounts, including paid users, brands, and government officials, will be recommended by Twitter’s algorithm.
Last year, Twitter launched a new feature called “Fleets”, which allows users to post tweets that disappear after 24 hours. It was a copy of Instagram and Snapchat's Stories feature. Fleets were only available to users with verified accounts or with 10,000 or more followers. However, the feature was not popular among users, and Twitter announced that it would be shutting down the feature on August 3, 2021.

Twitter has been struggling to combat bots and misinformation on its platform for years. Last month, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that he was stepping down from his role. Twitter’s new CEO, Parag Agrawal, has yet to make any significant announcements about the platform's future direction.

Elon Musk's announcement about the algorithmic timeline may be aimed at tackling bot swarms on Twitter, but it remains to be seen whether it will be effective in achieving this goal. Additionally, it may have unintended consequences, such as limiting the diversity of voices on the platform, and giving an unfair advantage to verified accounts.
Despite the mixed reactions to Musk's decision, it is clear that Twitter will continue to be a platform that sparks debate and controversy. Its ability to serve as a tool for social change and political activism has been well-documented.

News Source for Elon Musk says Twitter will only show verified accounts on its algorithmic timeline:
The information provided in the Tech News Update is based on various sources related to Elon Musk, Twitter- The Micro Blogging Platform, and social media platforms, and the opinions expressed are solely those of ThinkWithNiche Editorial Team for the News Article.