Opinions on Twitter’s algorithmic “For You” feed are mixed. Since Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, “For You” has surfaced some questionable accounts(Opens in a new window) and given Musk’s own tweets (and emoji-laden replies) priority on the feeds of those who follow him. Now, it’s set to only recommend those who subscribe to Twitter Blue.
Starting April 15, only those who pay $8 per month for Twitter Blue will have their tweets recommended to others via For You, because it’s “the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over,” Musk tweeted(Opens in a new window). “It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.”
Musk later clarified that legitimate, automated bot accounts with Blue accounts will be permitted “if they follow terms of service & don’t impersonate a human.”
Musk says “voting in polls will [also] require verification” going forward because of the bot problem. That edict comes about 3 months after he asked via Twitter poll if he should step down as CEO and promised to abide by the results. Reader, he did not.
Musk’s use of the term “verification” here, however, is ruffling some feathers because come April 1, legacy verified accounts will lose their blue checkmarks unless they subscribe to Blue.
Twitter overhauled For You in January, when it initially defaulted everyone to the algo feed every time they re-opened the app. Following complaints, Twitter updated the app to open where users last left off. Now, the upcoming change has some folks asking for the option to remove “For You” from their account altogether.
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Don’t count on it. “My prediction is that this will be the only platform you can trust,” Musk tweeted about the For You feed last night.
Musk has a history of tweeting about things that don’t actually come to fruition. Exhibit A is that he’s still CEO of Twitter, but we’re also waiting for details on how creators can make money on viral tweets. He also promised to open source(Opens in a new window) the Twitter algorithm in February, which didn’t happen.
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