Twitter’s Spam/Bot Boilerplate, Which Elon Musk Says He’s Paused Deal Over, Goes Back Nearly a Decade

Elon Musk says his deal to buy Twitter can't move forward unless the company shows public proof that less than five percent of the accounts on the social media platform are fake or spam.Musk made the comment in a reply to another user on Twitter early Tuesday. He spent much of the previous day in a back-and-forth with Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who posted a series of tweets explaining his company's effort to fight bots and how it has consistently estimated that less than five percent of Twitter accounts are fake.In his tweet Tuesday, Musk said that «Twenty percent fake/spam accounts, while four times what Twitter claims, could be much higher.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorIn the latest turn of Elon Musk’s will-he-or-won’t-he Twitter buyout saga, the billionaire is demanding hard proof of the social network’s assertion that less than 5% of its users are fake accounts or spam bots — and he said the deal cannot “move forward” until Twitter does so.Without citing any evidence for his claim, Musk tweeted that Twitter’s base could represent “20% fake/spam accounts,” four times what the company claims, and it “could be *much* higher.” He cited Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s reply Monday to Musk’s assertion about the fake/spam accounts, in which Agrawal said in part that “Unfortunately, we don’t believe that this specific estimation can be performed externally, given the critical need to use both public and private information (which we can’t share).” “My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.

Elon Musk said overnight that his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter can’t move ahead unless the company backs up statements about the number of fake accounts on the platform, which the company has put at under 5%.

Elon Musk said Friday that his planned $44 billion purchase of Twitter is «temporarily on hold» pending details on spam and fake accounts on the social media platform, another twist amid signs of internal turmoil over the proposed acquisition.In a tweet, the Tesla billionaire linked to a Reuters story from May 2 citing a financial filing from Twitter that estimated false or spam accounts made up fewer than 5% of the company's «monetizable daily active users» in the first quarter.«Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,» Musk said, indicating he's skeptical that the number of inauthentic accounts is that low.A short time later on Friday morning, Musk tweeted that he remains committed to the purchase. Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuynIt wasn't clear whether the issue could scuttle the deal. Shares of both Twitter and Tesla swung sharply in opposite directions, with Twitter's stock tumbling 17% to $37.20 before trading opened in the U.S, and Tesla, which Musk had proposed using to help fund the Twitter deal, jumping 5%.

tweeted. Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuynMusk’s tweet referenced a May 2 news story about a Twitter regulatory filing that claimed that spam and fake accounts — something that Musk had vowed to crack down on on the platform — accounted for less than 5% of all the 229 million daily active users who are served advertising.

Elon Musk has said his $44BN deal for Twitter is “temporarily on hold” as he awaits details on the social media platform’s revelation that fewer than 5% of its monetizable daily active users are false or spam accounts.

Naman Ramachandran The Twitter deal is temporarily on hold, billionaire Elon Musk posted on Friday.“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” Musk posted on Twitter.Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of usershttps://t.co/Y2t0QMuuyn— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2022In the tweet, Musk provided a link to a May 2 Reuters article quoting Twitter’s filing on Monday. “Twitter Inc estimated in a filing on Monday that false or spam accounts represented fewer than 5% of its monetizable daily active users during the first quarter,” the Reuters piece said.Musk has been vocal about cleaning the platform of spam bots.

Elon Musk said Twitter would reverse its ban of former President Donald Trump if his purchase of the social media company goes through, signaling just how permissive the platform could become toward free speech under his ownership.

Elon Musk is making his potential plans known.

Elon Musk confirmed what has been speculated since he reached a deal to buy out Twitter: He’d allow Donald Trump to return to the platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorCould Donald Trump return to Twitter after all?Elon Musk, who has reached a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter, said the social network’s permanent ban on the 45th U.S. president was a “morally bad decision” — one that he would overturn, if Musk successfully closes the deal.Twitter’s ban of Trump “was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the county and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice,” Musk said, speaking at a Financial Times automotive conference, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.Musk also said, “If there are tweets that are wrong and bad, those should be either deleted or made invisible, and a suspension — a temporary suspension — is appropriate, but not a permanent ban.” Trump has insisted he wouldn’t rejoin Twitter regardless of who owns it.

Elon Musk took to Twitter on Friday to offer a sense of his vision for the social media platform, after the acquisition goes through, also offering a sense of what its employees can expect, with regard to work life under his leadership.

Meek Mill has asked “big homie” Elon Musk to let him get in on his recent Twitter investment.The Tesla founder and entrepreneur successfully acquired the social media platform last month (April 25) for approximately $44billion (£34.5b).His offer was initially turned down by Twitter, which put a “poison pill” measure in place to stop a takeover attempt by Musk. However, the two parties later entered talks before the deal entered its final stages of negotiations.Mill has now publicly tweeted Musk and asked him directly if there’s any room for him to get in on the deal.“Elon musk let us invest in Twitter with you ‘big homie,’” Mill wrote, as you can see below.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorElon Musk, the mega-billionaire Twitter power user who last week clinched a deal to acquire the company, has floated a new idea for the social network make money.Musk on Tuesday posted that Twitter may impose “a slight cost” for companies or government accounts to use the service, without elaborating.“Ultimately, the downfall of the Freemasons was giving away their stonecutting services for nothing,” Musk tweeted. “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.”To be sure, it’s just Musk spitballing at this point about what may happen once he closes the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

The method behind the mega-purchase. Elon Musk made headlines around the world when he bought Twitter — and now he’s explaining why he did it.

Grimes is a frequent Twitter user but has said the social media site has ‘issues with public mental health’, just as her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk made his bid to buy the platform.  It was announced last month that Tesla founder Musk, 50, had reached an agreement with Twitter to buy the platform for $44billion (£3.

Tesla stock has reversed its slump after Elon Musk said he is finished selling stock in the electric vehicle firm he runs as CEO in order to fund his pending $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.

Elon Musk has been making headlines after buying Twitter for a modest $44 billion cash on Monday.