Musk says Twitter algorithm manipulating users, instructs how to fix your feed
While the former CEO Jack Dorsey disagrees.
Elon Musk, the man who wants to unlock Twitter’s true potential, has created some problems for the social media company by calling its algorithm ‘manipulative,’ Business Insider reported.
As usual, the Tesla CEO took to Twitter over the weekend to air his views.
Very important to fix your Twitter feed:
1. Tap home button.
2. Tap stars on upper right of screen.
3. Select “Latest tweets”.You are being manipulated by the algorithm in ways you don’t realize.
Easy to switch back & forth to see the difference.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2022
Jack Dorsey defends Twitter
Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey was rather quick to respond to Musk’s tweet and said that the function was designed to save users time and stay connected with the content of their choice.
Considering that the time gap between Musk’s tweet and Dorsey’s reply was mere minutes, it seems like Dorsey uses the ‘Latest Tweets’ option. Engaging with another Twitter user, who told Dorsey that these features were forced upon users, the Twitter founder said:
They simply try to put the tweets that you’re *most likely* to engage with at the top. That’s it. Predictive based on what you like, retweet, reply to, search for, pause on, etc. it’s meant to be a convenience, nothing more. Again most important is being able to turn off.
— jack⚡️ (@jack) May 15, 2022
How the algorithm function is something that has remained a secret, and Musk has been vocal about changing that.
Open-sourcing Twitter’s algorithm
Since the early days of his Twitter bid, Elon Musk has been very keen on revealing to the larger public how Twitter’s algorithm works. The Tesla CEO, replied to his original tweet to say that he did not believe the algorithm was malicious but could be inadvertently manipulating or amplifying one’s viewpoints without the user realizing that it is happening.
Musk returned to his grand solution of open-sourcing the algorithm to solve Twitter’s problems.
Not to mention potential bugs in the code. Open source is the way to go to solve both trust and efficacy.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 15, 2022
While Musk put his Twitter offer on hold citing the high number of spam or fake accounts on the platform, CEO Parag Agarwal did not rule out that the deal would not go through as well. Musk, meanwhile, has said that he is committed to the acquisition.
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