X Warns Users Of Fall In Followers As It Sweeps Spam And Bot

This development comes shortly after the company announced the appointment of two new leaders to its safety team

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is notifying users that they might experience a decrease in their follower counts as part of the company's effort to cleanse the network of spammers and bots in a substantial sweep. Through an announcement shared by X's Safety official account, the micro-blogging company revealed its plans to initiate a "significant, proactive initiative" to remove accounts that breach X's regulations regarding platform manipulation and spam.

"Today, we're kicking off a significant, proactive initiative to eliminate accounts that violate our Rules against platform manipulation and spam. While we aim for accuracy in the accounts we remove, we're casting a wide net to ensure X remains secure and free of bots. As a result, you may observe changes in follower counts. If your account is inadvertently affected, please let us know by submitting an appeal through this form: https://help.x.com/en/forms/account-access/appeals/...," X Safety posted.

This development comes shortly after the company announced the appointment of two new leaders to its safety team. Kylie McRoberts, a current X employee, has been appointed as the Head of Safety, while Yale Cohen, formerly of Publicis Media, has joined as the Head of Brand Safety and Advertiser Solutions at X.

Since Musk's acquisition of the social media platform in October 2022, X's trust and safety division, responsible for overseeing content on the site, has encountered notable challenges. Musk, who identifies as a "free speech absolutist," has articulated his vision for X to serve as a platform where a diverse range of beliefs can engage in healthy debate.

Addressing spam has been a longstanding priority for Musk at X. In November 2022, Musk emphasised to employees his commitment to prioritising efforts to combat spam moving forward.

However, battling spam has presented greater challenges than anticipated, particularly following significant job reductions that left Twitter's Trust & Safety team understaffed. Moreover, the position of Head of Safety remained vacant for 10 months after the departures of Ella Irwin and Yoel Roth during Musk's tenure.

Furthermore, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) has increased the difficulty of curbing spam.