Twitter to Restrict For You Feed to Verified Accounts Starting April 15th
On Monday, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, tweeted that Twitter will be restricting its “For You” feed to only verified accounts starting April 15th. This policy change comes as a response to the increasing number of advanced AI bots on the platform.
According to Musk, limiting the For You feed to verified accounts is the only realistic way to address the problem of AI bot swarms taking over. He believes that it is a hopeless losing battle to try to combat the bots in any other way.
In addition to this change, Twitter will also be implementing a new policy that only verified users can vote in polls. This is also to combat the problem of bots skewing the results of polls.
However, these changes also come with a catch. Twitter recently announced that legacy verified accounts will lose their blue checkmark starting April 1 unless they sign up for paid Twitter Blue. This means that if users want to be included in the For You feed and have the ability to vote in polls, they will have to pay for Twitter’s premium service.
This move may drive more subscribers to Twitter Blue, but it also means that the For You page will become a space for self-promotion and marketing. By limiting amplification to only a small number of paid users, brands and other users who want to pay for Twitter can get more traction and amplification on a free tweet instead of buying ads.
As a result, regular, unpaid accounts will only be visible in the chronological feed of the people you follow. Essentially, Twitter is reverting to its roots by offering a feed that is only focused on the content you choose to follow.
While these changes may help to combat the problem of bots and increase revenue for Twitter, they also raise concerns about equity and access on the platform. It remains to be seen how this policy change will impact the platform as a whole and whether it will have unintended consequences.
In conclusion, Twitter is taking a bold step to combat the growing problem of AI bots on its platform. However, the decision to limit the For You feed to verified accounts and only allow verified users to vote in polls may have unintended consequences, including creating an environment for self-promotion and marketing. It remains to be seen how this policy change will impact Twitter’s user base and its reputation as a platform for open communication.
