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Elon Musk demands proof of bot numbers before Twitter sale
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Elon Musk has stated that his purchase of Twitter cannot go ahead until the company provides proof of its claimedbot numbers.
The controversial Tesla boss has claimed that bots could represent more than 20 percent of Twitter’s users, which would be more than four times the company’s estimate of less than 5 percent if true.
20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be much higher.My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate.Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.This deal cannot move forward until he does.
Musk is claiming that his $44 billion offer for Twitter was based on the company’s estimate, which is why he’s taking the position that “This deal cannot move forward” until current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal provides the necessary proof.
The two executives have been going back and forth this week over the subject, withAgrawal claimingthat external estimates cannot be done given the security of its users’ data. Musk claimed on Monday that he could seek a revised price over this perceived abundance of fake Twitter accounts.
One of Musk’s stated big goals for taking over Twitter is “defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans”.
This is just the latest in a series of twists following the news in early April that Musk had become the largest Twitter shareholder (and immediatelypushed for an edit button). After much back and forth over Musk potentially joining the Twitter board, he officiallyreached a dealto buy the social network for $44 billion in late April.
With the matter of bot numbers rearing its head after that deal was struck, it seems Musk is attempting to negotiate a lower price after the fact.
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Jon is a seasoned freelance writer who started covering games and apps in 2007 before expanding into smartphones and consumer tech, dabbling in lifestyle and media coverage along the way. Besides bein…
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
