Main topic: Social media company X (formerly Twitter) now allows paid users to hide their verification checkmarks.
Key points:
1. Twitter introduced paid verification last year with the Twitter Blue relaunch.
2. The service was renamed to XBlue during the ongoing rebranding exercise.
3. The company has updated the help page for paid subscriptions, stating that even if the checkmark is hidden, it might still be visible in some places.
4. The option to hide the checkmark will be available in the "Profile customization" section of account settings.
5. This feature will allow users to benefit from subscription features without displaying that they are a verified account.
6. In March, Twitter was reported to be working on a feature to hide checkmarks with ID verification.
7. There was controversy surrounding paid verification, as it was difficult to differentiate between legacy verified accounts and those who paid for the checkmark.
8. Twitter initially removed legacy checkmarks but later reinstated them for top accounts, regardless of payment.
9. Since the relaunch, Twitter has introduced various features to incentivize users, such as a 10,000-character limit for posts, a 3-hour video upload limit, fewer ads on the timeline, and ad revenue sharing for subscribed users.
10. In May, the platform enabled encrypted DMs for verified users.
Main topic: Elon Musk addressing the lack of transparency around "shadowbanning" on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Key points:
1. Musk apologizes for the delay in addressing the issue and explains the challenges faced by X in providing data to users.
2. Shadowbanning has been a concern on Twitter, with users unaware of being penalized for their tweets.
3. Musk insists that users should have the right to know if they've been shadowbanned and mentions a ground-up rewrite of X's codebase to simplify the process.
Hint on Elon Musk: Musk took over Twitter and attempted to prove the existence of shadowbanning by releasing information, but it only provided a behind-the-scenes look at social media moderation. He acknowledges the difficulties in tackling the problem and mentions ongoing efforts to simplify the codebase.
A botnet powered by ChatGPT, called Fox8, was discovered on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), using auto-generated content to trick users into clicking links to cryptocurrency websites, indicating the potential for more sophisticated botnets utilizing advanced chatbots like ChatGPT for scams and disinformation.
A recent study conducted by the Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University revealed that X (formerly known as Twitter) has a bot problem, with approximately 1,140 AI-powered accounts that generate fake content and steal selfies to create fake personas, promoting suspicious websites, spreading harmful content, and even attempting to steal from existing crypto wallets. These accounts interact with human-run accounts and distort online conversations, making it increasingly difficult to detect their activity and emphasizing the need for countermeasures and regulation.
China's economic woes, including deflation, declining exports, and weak domestic consumption, could spell trouble for the crypto market, although the impact may be diminished compared to the past; meanwhile, the decision by NFT marketplaces to no longer enforce creator fees has caused fear and uncertainty in the NFT markets; however, the launch of Friend.tech, a decentralized application integrating tokenomics with social media, has attracted over 100,000 users and demonstrated the demand for a fresh social media experience combined with the allure of quick profits.
The increasing sophistication of AI phishing scams poses a significant threat to crypto organizations as scammers utilize AI tools to execute highly convincing and successful attacks, warns Richard Ma, co-founder of Quantstamp. These AI-powered attacks involve scammers posing as key personnel within targeted companies to establish legitimacy and request sensitive information, making it crucial for individuals and organizations to avoid sending sensitive information via email or text and instead utilize internal communication channels like Slack. Investing in anti-phishing software is also advised to filter out automated emails from bots and AI.
Twitter is being accused of "intentional complicity" with human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and mishandling of users' personal data, leading to calls for the company to be deemed unfit for banking licenses.
A fake Twitter account claiming to be associated with Grayscale is promoting a $25 million crypto giveaway, but it has been confirmed to be a scam by the real Grayscale spokesperson, highlighting the prevalence of crypto scams on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Tech scammers are using phony cryptocurrency accounts to dupe victims into investing large sums of money, resulting in billions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency and financial ruin for many victims.
The Twitter account of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin was compromised, resulting in victims losing over $691,000 through a malicious link that falsely promoted a free NFT.
Summary: Scammers are flooding TikTok with fake cryptocurrency giveaways, often impersonating Elon Musk, SpaceX, or Tesla, tricking users into registering and depositing crypto on fraudulent websites with no returns.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, revealed plans for his social network, X (formerly Twitter), to introduce a monthly payment system to combat bots, but did not disclose the cost or additional features included, while also claiming to have 550 million monthly users generating millions of daily posts, without specifying the authenticity of these users. Musk's discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed concerns over hate speech and antisemitism on the platform, following Musk's previous amplification of such content. Musk's takeover of Twitter led to significant changes, including staff cuts, the restoration of previously suspended accounts, and the elimination of Twitter's verification system.
Elon Musk suggests that Twitter may no longer be free and is considering implementing a small monthly payment to combat bots on the platform.
Elon Musk suggests that users of X (formerly Twitter) may have to pay for access to the platform in order to counter bots, with a small monthly payment being considered as a defense against fake accounts.
