Elon Musk Promises to Make "Significant Improvements" to Twitter — Calls Crypto Spam Bots "Single Most Annoying Problem"
Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has joined Twitter’s board of directors and promised to “make significant improvements” to the social media platform. Some changes he is considering include adding an edit button and solving the crypto spam bot problem, which he sees as the “single most annoying problem on Twitter.” Elon Musk Joins Twitter’s Board of Directors
After disclosing Monday that he has taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc., Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has joined Twitter’s board of directors, according to the social media giant’s filingwith the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk is now Twitter’s largest shareholder.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted welcoming Musk to his company’s board. The Tesla boss replied: “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!”
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted: “I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it. Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team.” Musk Promises to Make Major Improvements to Twitter
Following Musk’s Twitter investment, many people flooded the Tesla CEO’s tweets with their ideas on how to improve Twitter.
Some suggestions concern crypto spam bots. “Elon, you need to do something about these crypto spam bots,” one person wrote. “They’re getting really annoying. Improving the verification system to prove that you’re an actual *real* human would help with this.” Musk concurred, emphasizing that in his opinion, this is the “single most annoying problem on Twitter.”
This was not the first time Musk has voiced concerns about the crypto spam bot problem. Crypto spam posts frequently appear on Musk’s tweet threads, and many of them promote crypto giveaway scams. Scammers often capitalize on Musk’s popularity, featuring him and his companies giving away bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Musk tweeted on Feb. 1, 2020: “The crypto scam level on Twitter is reaching new levels. This is not cool.” His statement was made in response to a comment that “Even verified accounts are now being hacked and pushing fake bitcoin scams.”
Dogecoin co-founder Billy Marcus estimated on March 25: I think crypto spam bots make up 40% of Twitter.
Besides the crypto spam bot problem, Musk is looking into adding an edit button to tweets. He set up a poll Monday asking his 80.6 million followers, “Do you want an edit button?” The CEO of Twitter stressed: “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” Over 4.4 million votes were counted and 73.6% said yes.
Twitter user Liz Wheeler argued against having an edit button. She opined: “What if a tweet goes viral, lots of retweets & millions of impressions, & then the author completely changes the meaning? Not just a grammatical fix, but a total ideological change? Or shameless self-promote?”
The CTO of Meta, formerly Facebook, chimed in: “We solved this on Facebook a long time ago. You just include an indicator that it has been edited along with a change log. If you are really worried about embeds they can point to a specific revision in that history but with a link to the latest edit. Not a real issue.” However, Musk replied, “Facebook gives me the willies.”
Some other suggestions concern Twitter’s fact checking, election control, and bringing back banned users, such as former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Musk said at the end of March that he wanted to build a social media platform that focuses on free speech as a top priority. “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” he described. There Are Some Skeptics
Not everyone is confident that Musk will improve Twitter. Regarding free speech, Bloomberg published an opinion piece Monday claiming that “Musk’s Twitter investment could be bad news for free speech.”
One Twitter user expressed his doubt that Musk will make changes that benefit everyone, asserting that the Tesla boss “seems self-centered.” A different user said he will quit Twitter if Musk is in control.
Some people in the crypto community pointed out that Musk’s promise to improve Twitter is a display of the problem with the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, citing its apparent weakness of being controlled by the rich. One wrote: Elon is showing you how easy it is to control a PoS network. Tags in this story crypto spam bots, Elon Musk, elon musk crypto spam bots, elon musk jack dorsey, elon musk proof of stake, elon musk twitter, Elon Musk twitter board Elon Musk improves twitter, Jack Dorsey, Parag Agrawal, twitter changes, twitter edit button, twitter improvements
Do you think Elon Musk will improve Twitter? What changes do you want to see happening? Let us know in the comments section below. Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography. Microstrategy Spends $200 Million More on Bitcoin, Raising Total Holdings to 129,218 BTC FEATURED | 9 hours ago Close to 250 Casascius Physical Bitcoins Were Redeemed in 6 Months, $1.9B in BTC Remain Active FEATURED | 1 day ago
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons Previous articleAscendEX Lists WINkLink, WIN Next articleSEC Chair Gensler Asks Staff to Collaborate With CFTC on Regulating Crypto Exchanges Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Read disclaimerShow comments More Popular NewsIn Case You Missed ItUS Senator Cruz Introduces Bill to Prevent Federal Reserve From Using Digital Currency as Surveillance Tool
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has introduced legislation to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly to individuals and competing with the private sector. The senator from Texas warned that not only would this CBDC ... read more.Indian Government Consulting With IMF, World Bank on Crypto Policy Bandai Namco Announces Gundam Themed Metaverse Sanctions Motivate Russia to Create Own Crypto Market Infrastructure, Finance Ministry Says With Over 90% of BTC"s Supply Issued, Bitcoin"s Mining Difficulty Reaches a Lifetime High