Elon Musk Says Previous Twitter Board Lied About Bots to Increase User Numbers

Elon Musk confirms previous Twitter management and board lied about bots to make user numbers artificially higher. The allegations about bots have resurfaced, sparking renewed debate about the platform's transparency and valuation.

Musk argued that Twitter’s refusal to be transparent about its bot problem was one of the main reasons he could not go through with the deal. His equation could end up with a different numerator (the number of bots) and denominator (those monetizable daily active users) than the ones in Twitter’s arithmetic.

The complaint then listed Prior Twitter management & board lied to make their user numbers seem artificially higher, so turned a blind eye to fake/spam accounts. Taking to Twitter, Elon Musk has stated that the previous Twitter management and board lied about the number of bots on the platform to increase user numbers.

That last Musk has said for months that Twitter misled investors about the platform’s financial health, including the proportion of spam bots on the site.

Filings made by Elon Musk's legal team in his battle with Twitter have been questioned by leading bot researchers. Botometer - an online tool that tracks spam and fake accounts, is one such tool used to analyze bot activity.

Allegations include Twitter hid negligent security practices, misled regulators about its safety, and failed to estimate the number of bots on its platform properly.

Some reports indicate Elon silently reversed positions on bots because they're responsible for half or more of the engagements the site generates. If he actually cracked down on them, it would be clear how drastically the platform's reach would be reduced.