Twitter, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, has been secretly boosting the visibility of 35 VIP users, according to a recent report by Platformer. The report, which cited internal documents from Twitter, revealed that tweets by these VIP users bypass the algorithm that prevents too many posts from a particular user from being viewed, ensuring their posts are automatically more visible than others.
While the full list of VIP users has not been published to protect the identity of their sources, Platformer did release 14 names on the list, which included Lebron James, the NBA star; Mr. Beast, a prominent YouTuber; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the US politician; Ben Shapiro, the conservative commentator; and Twitter’s own CEO, Elon Musk. Interestingly, the list appeared to span the political spectrum, with President Joe Biden also making the list, but not former President Donald Trump.
The report also revealed that Musk had requested Twitter to tweak its code to make his posts more visible. In February, Musk ordered changes to boost the visibility of his tweets over anyone else on the platform after his post on the Super Bowl got fewer impressions than Biden’s, according to a separate Platformer report in February.
The revelation of this list has raised concerns about Twitter’s fairness and impartiality in promoting certain users over others. While Twitter has not responded to the report, it comes at a time when the platform is scheduled to remove its legacy blue ticks from April 1. These blue ticks indicate that an account is a verified user of “public interest,” such as politicians, public figures, and celebrities.
In conclusion, the revelation that Twitter has been secretly boosting the visibility of certain VIP users over others has raised questions about the platform’s impartiality. While Twitter has not responded to the report, it will be interesting to see how the platform responds to this revelation and whether it will affect its credibility as a social media platform.