Elon Musk's X removes 1.7M bots in major cleanup
What's the story
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, has removed some 1.7 million bots from its platform. The move comes in a bid to improve user experience by eliminating spam and irrelevant content from reply sections. Nikita Bier, Head of Product at X, announced the bot purge in a post on the platform.
Spam strategy
Bot purge part of broader spam combat initiative
Bier confirmed the bot purge in an X post, saying, "This week we purged 1.7 million bots engaging in reply spam. You should start noticing improvements in the coming days." This action is part of a broader effort by X to tackle spam and restore meaningful engagement on its platform. After this major cleanup, the company is now turning its attention to combating spam in direct messages (DMs).
DM focus
Addressing bot issues in DMs
Bier revealed that DMs have become another hotspot for bot activity. He also hinted at the next phase of the anti-spam campaign, which will target bots flooding inboxes with unsolicited messages. The platform is also testing new link-sharing features and AI-driven moderation tools to further improve safety and usability on X.
User experience
Musk's commitment to improving user experience on X
The bot purge is one of the largest spam cleanups in X's history and shows Musk's commitment to making the platform more secure and user-friendly. With over 1.7 million fake accounts removed, users can expect cleaner conversations and more authentic interactions on X. The company has not revealed how these bots were detected or removed but has increasingly relied on automation and behavioral analysis tools to flag suspicious accounts.
Platform updates
What's next for X?
Bier also announced that X will test a new approach to link-sharing and engagement next week. The update aims to "ensure all content on the platform has equal visibility on Timeline." This comes after Musk hinted at potential changes in how external links are displayed. Bier also revealed a surge in Android downloads for X, calling it "one of the best weeks in our history," and said they are "rebuilding the whole app from scratch."