“We don’t make mistakes — we just have happy accidents,” is one of the most iconic quotes from legendary artist Bob Ross.
A simple survey may have unwittingly uncovered some of Twitter’s most unpleasant issues, including bot and troll accounts, as well as bot farms. This comment may ring true for Twitter’s incoming CEO, Elon Musk, who may have to deal with bot and troll accounts, as well as bot farms.
Given that it involves former President Donald Trump, it was inevitable that the survey in issue would be divisive.
Reinstate former President Trump
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
“Reinstate former President Trump,” Musk posted on his Twitter account, with just the options for “yes” and “no” available.
As of the time of writing, more than 15 million votes have been cast, with about 52 percent in favor of reinstating Trump and 48 percent opposed.
A highly anti-Musk troll account made an unsubstantiated allegation about the large decline of the pro-Trump vote.
Trump poll getting ~1M votes/hour!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
But that claim was enough to warrant a response from Musk (who seemed unaware that @Nomad_1x appears to hate him.)
The bot attack is impressive to watch!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
“Bot & troll armies might be running out of steam soon,” Musk posted. “Some interesting lessons to clean up future polls.”
Notably, Musk did not dispute that Trump’s vote totals shifted drastically against him as the poll gained momentum.
Whether the anti-Musk troll account intended to or not (another happy accident), it may have shone light on the pervasive problems currently affecting Twitter — not that they weren’t problems before Musk came aboard.
Bots, farms, and trolls are all very real issues that influence the usage of Twitter on a daily basis. And while it may sound ridiculous, it’s not.
Imagine that Little Timmy is perusing Twitter. He observes the Trump poll with no context. This might directly alter Little Timmy’s opinion of Trump if Democrats cheat. Moreover, it is not specific to Trump. Influencing public opinion via social media is a very successful strategy that can have lasting effects.
Take the occurrence on January 6 as an example. If someone was exposed to the news/information for the first time, but it was presented by a Democrat bot or a Republican bot, wouldn’t they receive vastly different interpretations?
And to be clear, there are liars across the political spectrum who abuse and use the Twitter environment.
Musk, now equipped with at least 15 million people who have voted, possesses a veritable list to investigate the issue of bots and trolls (such as Twitter user @Nomad 1x) and begin unraveling these ongoing problems.
Did he set this trap on purpose to catch some of these widespread trolls and bots? Only Musk is aware of the solution.
It is important to note that if you want to attract as many trolls and bots as possible, there is no better bait than making Trump the primary focus. Regardless of how you feel about the former president, he evokes strong feelings.
Whether this was a lucky accident or the result of Musk playing chess instead of checkers, it does not augur well for all system-cheating bots.
For Twitter users who wish to utilize the social media application without actively engaging with phony and troll accounts? This is a huge victory.