In response to the report, Twitter has a listing of about three dozen “VIP users,” which include Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), basketball superstar LeBron James, and Every day Wire founder Ben Shapiro.
Elon Musk, the site’s latest owner, who was unhappy that his tweets were generating less engagement, ordered his software engineers to isolate a special category of “power users” whose tweets are continuously visible, in accordance with Platformer Tech (Pay Wall) news site.
Naturally, Musk’s name was included in the “power users” list, which also includes President Biden, journalist Glenn Greenwald, and YouTube personality MrBeast, Platformer reported.
Twitter engineers have reportedly followed their boss’ instructions to tweak the system’s algorithm to make his posts more visible than other users, in accordance with the platformer.
The positioning’s creators arranged for Musk and other VIP users to work around restrictions on their visibility – leading to their posts appearing more often in the “For You” suggestion card, in accordance with the Platformer report.
“For You” is a Twitter feed powered by an algorithm programmed to supply posts from accounts that users often follow, in addition to featured tweets.
Musk on Monday announced that high-profile Twitter users who until now had a blue checkmark next to their name as a standing symbol could have to pay as much as $11 a month to maintain it.
“It’ll be great,” he tweeted Monday, in response to a Twitter user noting that Saturday, the deadline Musk set for blue check holders to sue or lose their heritage status, can be April Idiot’s Day.
After buying Twitter for $44 billion in October, Musk is attempting to increase revenue for the struggling platform by forcing more people to pay for a premium subscription generally known as Twitter Blue.
But his move also reflects his claim that blue verification marks have change into an undeserved or “corrupt” status symbol for elite personalities and reporters.
“From April 15, only verified accounts will probably be eligible for recommendations for you,” Musk tweeted on Monday.
“[This] is the only realistic technique to take care of advanced AI bot swarms taking on. Otherwise, it is a hopeless losing battle. Voting in polls would require verification for the same reason.”
But the plan has been rebuffed by distinguished figures, including Monica Lewinsky, who says Musk’s latest system will allow pranksters to impersonate a former White House intern.
Lewinsky tweeted a screenshot of all the people impersonating her on Sunday, including not less than one who apparently paid for the blue check mark.
She asked, “in what universe is that this fair to individuals who may face consequences for impersonating others? a lie travels halfway around the world before the truth comes out.”
Star Trek alum William Shatner, known for his irreverent humor, also branded Musk a criticism about promised changes.
“I have been here for 15 years giving my (clock emoji) and witty thoughts for bupkis,” he wrote. “Now you are telling me to pay for something you gave me free of charge?”
Musk responded that there must be no other standard for celebrities.
“It’s more about treating everyone equally,” Musk tweeted.
With Postal Wires