• Wion
  • /World
  • /$44 billion Twitter purchase will not go ahead without clarity on fake, spam accounts: Elon Musk

$44 billion Twitter purchase will not go ahead without clarity on fake, spam accounts: Elon Musk

$44 billion Twitter purchase will not go ahead without clarity on fake, spam accounts: Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s purchase of initial 9% stake in Twitter may be under scrutiny (file photo).

Elon Musk has stated that he will not proceed with his $44 billion purchase of Twitter until he has more information on how many accounts are fraudulent.

In a filing earlier this month, Twitter calculated that bots and spam accounts made up less than 5% of its monetizable daily active users in the first quarter.

However, Musk reckons that roughly 20% of Twitter accounts are bogus or spam, and he is concerned that the figure could be substantially higher.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Musk tweeted early Tuesday morning that "20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher.My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate.Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.This deal cannot move forward until he does."

Following this information, Twitter's stock sank 2.22 percent in pre-market trading on Tuesday.

Musk has stated that his team is doing their own investigation into the number of fraudulent accounts on the site, but specialists in the fields of social media, disinformation, and statistical analysis say his proposed method for additional investigation is grossly inadequate.

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.