Twitter to comply with Musk’s request for fake accounts and daily tweets data

Elon Musk will reportedly be given access to Twitter’s “firehose” of raw data on millions of daily tweets to speed up the Tesla billionaire’s $44 billion purchase of the social media platform.

 

According to multiple news reports, Twitter decided to comply with Musk’s request after Musk warned that if the network failed to provide data on spam and fake accounts, he would withdraw his offer to buy Twitter.

 

The data-sharing agreement was not confirmed by the lawyers involved in the deal. Musk did not respond on Twitter, despite having previously expressed his displeasure with various aspects of the deal. Twitter declined to comment on the reports, pointing to a statement released Monday in which the company stated that it is continuing to “cooperately” share information with Musk.

 

Musk, who reached a legally binding agreement to buy Twitter in April, claims the deal can’t go through unless Twitter provides more information about the prevalence of fake accounts on its platform. He claims, without providing evidence, that Twitter has grossly underestimated the number of “spam bots” on its platform, which are automated accounts that typically promote scams and misinformation.

 

For years, fake social media accounts have been a problem. Advertisers decide where they will spend money based on the number of users provided by social media platforms. Spam bots are also used to spread misinformation and amplify messages.

 

Twitter and its investors are well aware of the issue of fake accounts. The company has been disclosing its bot estimates to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States for years while also warning that its estimate could be too low.

 

According to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, the company has consistently estimated that less than 5% of its accounts are spam. Musk, on the other hand, has disputed that figure, claiming in a May tweet — without providing evidence — that 20% or more of Twitter’s accounts are fake.