How’s that whole “taking on the bots” thing going, Elon?
When Elon Musk originally offered to buy Twitter, he later tried to back out of the deal citing a preponderance of bots on the site. This was a genuine issue, but as he himself admitted during a later Twitter Spaces discussion, it’s one he should have thought about before offering to buy the company.
No matter how awful his stewardship of the social platform has been, though, lots of users would be willing to give him props if he actually managed to curb the bot problem. Unfortunately, he and the rest of the stripped-back team at X haven’t done so. In fact, bots on the site are significantly worse — videos without sound go viral after being auto reposted, and go to the replies of any post and you’ll be sure to see more than one utterance of the phrase “░M░Y░P░ U░S░S░ Y░I░ N░B░I░O ░.”
Part of the growth of bot accounts on Twitter isn’t necessarily Musk and new management’s fault. After all, the rise of image generators like Midjourney and large language models like ChatGPT have made it harder for the average Joe to determine what’s real and what’s not. That said, some fakes should be obvious. Take this image, for example:
I Need Husband I Am From USA & UK pic.twitter.com/66caBrxCLk
— Alma Hanna (@hannanative) March 4, 2024
It shows a soldier who confusingly claims to be both from “USA & UK” (pick a side, damn it!). This woman says she “need[s] husband” and, for all the interested men out there, helpfully offers a picture of herself so any prospective beau can get a taste of what they’re missing in their lives.
The problem is that the lady is A.I.-generated — and built like a goddamn truck.
bitch are you half centaur https://t.co/1eF6PRtZ0J
— Kristi Yamaguccimane (@TheWapplehouse) March 4, 2024
whatever you typed into that ai prompt to get this has to be grounds for stoning in at least 20 countries https://t.co/mQdpNdM2jQ
— tippity (@tippity) March 4, 2024
The image quickly went viral, not only for the bizarre phrasing of the post, but for the shapely image that accompanied it. Immediately, users began making their own versions:
I need husband . I am from USA and UK https://t.co/DcGm9jJj5I pic.twitter.com/eCzZiqa02G
— beetle moses (@beetlemoses) March 4, 2024
I Need Husband I am from Naboo & Coruscant https://t.co/FhkY0t4Jxm pic.twitter.com/G5G3mpokzk
— Jason Kauzlarich (@JasonKauz) March 5, 2024
You're not him https://t.co/ZyMyEbnGzN pic.twitter.com/I16bYYb8tA
— T R A A (@traaa_r) March 4, 2024
Normally, to see proportions like this, you’ve gotta go to DeviantArt!
In all likelihood, this account isn’t run by a real woman and is instead being operated by some teenager in a Macedonian basement. However, on the off-chance that this is actually a woman who just has yet to post a real selfie, I wish her all the best — may your heart be as full as your scam-funded Bitcoin wallet.
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