Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), has unveiled a series of significant changes aimed at combating the escalating problem of bots manipulating poll results on the platform. Musk’s commitment to ensuring the authenticity and trustworthiness of user interactions has led to a decision that could reshape how polls are conducted on X.
The issue of bots distorting the outcomes of polls on social media platforms has become a pressing concern, and Elon Musk is taking proactive steps to address it. Musk responded to a tweet from Brian Krassenstein, an entrepreneur and writer, who highlighted the prevalence of bots in poll activities. Brian suggested that only verified users, denoted by the famous blue checkmark, should be allowed to participate in polls.
Elon Musk endorsed Brian’s idea, stating, “Agreed on all. We’re changing polls to allow votes only by verified users. That’s critical to avoid polls getting bot-spammed on controversial issues. The ADL has done a lot of good work in prior decades, but has been overzealous in recent years & hijacked by woke mind virus.”
This upcoming change means that, in the near future, only users with verified accounts will be able to cast their votes in polls on X. The move is designed to prevent automated bot responses from skewing the results, particularly on contentious topics.
This isn’t the first time Elon Musk has taken action to combat the bot problem on X. Several months ago, he announced that, starting from April 15th, only verified accounts would be allowed to participate in polls. Additionally, “For You” recommendations, which present curated tweets from X accounts, would also be restricted to verified users. Musk had previously expressed his intention to limit voting in polls related to policy matters.
Elon Musk defended these measures as the “only pragmatic” way to address the growing influence of AI bots on the platform. He emphasized that without such measures, the battle against bots would be a “hopeless losing battle.” Musk’s ultimate goal is to transform X into a dependable and trustworthy platform, becoming the singular platform users can trust implicitly.
Elon Musk’s recent announcement underscores his unwavering commitment to fostering an online environment where genuine user opinions can be expressed without distortion from automated accounts. These changes are part of a broader initiative to uphold the integrity and authenticity of interactions on social media platforms, setting a precedent for how the industry can combat the challenges posed by bots and maintain the integrity of online discourse.
