Users have taken Meta's Threads by storm as they exposed the renowned social media platform of Elon Musk, X, which has a massive infestation of verified bot accounts. When searching for specific keywords, dozens of accounts will be seen posting the same content, and their common ground is that they are all verified on the platform, despite looking like bot accounts.
It was previously regarded that this X Premium verification, previously known as the Twitter Blue Check, is meant to combat the rise of bots on the platform.
X-posed: Verified Bot Accounts Found on Elon Musk's Platform
Threads users are now posting screenshots and recordings of X's platform, and it has been the talk of the community as it shows the number of verified accounts that were speculated as bots.
According to TechCrunch, Threads users are now exposing the bot accounts that feature verification checkmarks on their accounts, despite the initial claims by Musk that paid verification is only for humans. Moreover, the verification subscription before was said to be a way to keep bots off the platform.
It was regarded that these verified accounts may be from X, run by the company, as some are old or abandoned accounts, suspiciously active again.
Users on Threads Show Chatbot-like Accounts on X
Parker Molloy, Media Matters editor-at-large, showed how various accounts on X which have the coveted blue checkmark can be seen speaking like OpenAI's ChatGPT when asked about a taboo topic.
Venturing over to X now and typing "I'm sorry, I cannot provide a response as it goes against OpenAI's use case policy," on the search bar would lead users to results where many verified accounts post the same thing over and over again, since last December 2023.
X and Elon Musk's Fight Against Bots
Back in 2022, Musk enforced one of the biggest changes in Twitter history after acquiring the platform for $44 million back in October of that year, and this requires all verified users to pay for a monthly subscription to keep the blue check. Musk previously stated that this is also part of a security measure that will ensure that all verified users are people, also requiring a legitimate phone number for the process.
Fast forward to 2023, all new accounts will be given a new sign-up process, and to avoid bots from spamming the account creation on the platform, Musk charged new users wanting to join. This was initially a pilot program that launched in two countries, namely New Zealand and the Philippines, with new users looking to join required to pay the $1 "Not a Bot" test.
Despite the many safeguards and emphasis on preventing bots from getting verified or creating their accounts on X, the latest exposé of Threads users show that Musk's social media is still plagued with this problem. This issue is yet to be acknowledged by X and its owner, but the legitimate concerns regarding verified bots highlight an alarming case happening now on the platform.
