Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Twitter/X had 67% fake traffic during Super Bowl

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Twitter/X had 67% fake traffic during Super Bowl · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
• 0:13
  and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
• 0:17
  episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to
• 0:20
  clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
• 0:26
  show notes. Recent findings have revealed
• 0:28
  that X, formerly known as Twitter, is grappling with an
• 0:31
  unprecedented level of fake traffic right now.
• 0:34
  According to a cybersecurity firm, a substantial portion of
• 0:37
  the activity on X during the Super Bowl weekend was not
• 0:40
  genuine, raising concerns about the integrity of interactions on
• 0:44
  the platform. Now the Super Bowl 2024 event
• 0:47
  set a new record for viewership, becoming the most watched
• 0:50
  televised event in the United States to date.
• 0:54
  Now CB s s broadcast of the NFL Championship attracted a massive
• 0:58
  audience underscoring the events widespread appeal.
• 1:01
  Now X also experienced a surge in activity during the Super
• 1:05
  Bowl with a platform reporting over 10 billion impressions and
• 1:10
  more than 1 billion video views. This marked the event as one of
• 1:14
  the most significant occurrences on the social media site in
• 1:17
  terms of user engagement. However, CHEQA Security Company
• 1:23
  specializing in the detection of bots and fraudulent users, has
• 1:26
  provided data suggesting that a large fraction of the traffic X
• 1:29
  directed to an advertiser's websites during the Super Bowl
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  was not authentic. Company found that 75.85% of
• 1:38
  this traffic consisted of fake interactions or bots.
• 1:42
  Now, the CEO and the founder of CHEQ expressed his astonishment
• 1:47
  at the high percentage of inauthentic traffic, stating
• 1:50
  that he had never encountered such a high level of fake
• 1:53
  activity in his professional experience.
• 1:55
  The situation on X is unique and has not been observed on other
• 1:58
  platforms to this extent. Now, the analysis conducted by A
• 2:02
  CHEQ was based on 144,000 site visits originating from X over
• 2:08
  the Super Bowl weekend. Although the sample represents a
• 2:11
  small segment of the total data, it indicates a significant issue
• 2:14
  with fake traffic on the platform.
• 2:16
  CHEQS methodology involves monitoring the behavior of site
• 2:19
  users to identify inauthentic activities such as bots
• 2:23
  masquerading as real users. Now this approach helps the
• 2:27
  company protect its clients from online advertising fraud.
• 2:32
  Now the prevalence of bots NX has become more noticeable to
• 2:36
  regular users who report an increase in suspicious
• 2:38
  activities such as AI generated responses and spam in their
• 2:42
  notifications. This user experience is now
• 2:45
  supported by CHEQS data. Now advertisers have also
• 2:49
  encountered problems with X's bot issue.
• 2:51
  For example, the small business owner observed A discrepancy
• 2:54
  between the clicks reported by X's analytics and the actual
• 2:57
  traffic to his website is measured by Google Analytics
• 3:00
  following a modest advertising campaign.
• 3:03
  Now they discuss the common belief that half of all Internet
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  traffic is actually generated by bots, a figure that is always
• 3:09
  found to be exaggerated based on CHEQS findings.
• 3:13
  Now the situation with X, however, has surpassed even the
• 3:16
  skeptical expectations. The bot problem on X is not only
• 3:19
  more severe than on other social media platforms, but also
• 3:22
  appears to be worsening. CHEQS data shows that during the
• 3:26
  same period, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok
• 3:29
  had significantly lower rates of fake traffic.
• 3:32
  For instance, Tiktok's fake traffic was just 2.56%.
• 3:36
  Facebook's was two point O1 and Instagram had just .73% rate of
• 3:44
  inauthentic visits during the Super Bowl and which highlights
• 3:47
  the start contract with XS nearly 76%.
• 3:52
  Now the issue extends beyond just the Super Bowl period.
• 3:55
  CHEQS data for the entire month of January 2024 shows the X had
• 3:59
  the highest percentage of fake traffic among the platforms
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  analyzed, with 31.82% of visits being inauthentic.
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  Now, this ongoing problem with bots impacts not only XS user
• 4:10
  experience, but also its relationship with the
• 4:12
  advertisers who rely on genuine user engagement.
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  For the campaigns, the inflated traffic figures could lead to
• 4:18
  advertisers paying for non existent interactions, and the
• 4:21
  situation has evolved significantly since Elon Musk's
• 4:24
  acquisition of the platform. Changes under Musk's leadership,
• 4:28
  such as the rebranding to X and modifications to the
• 4:31
  verification system, have coincided with an increase in
• 4:34
  fake traffic. The platform's approach to
• 4:36
  handling bots and fake accounts has also shifted, but
• 4:39
  significant reductions in staff responsible for trust and
• 4:42
  safety. These changes have raised
• 4:45
  questions about X's capabilities to manage inauthentic activity
• 4:48
  effectively. Now X's struggle with
• 4:51
  maintaining advertiser confidence has been compounded
• 4:54
  by issues related to content moderation in the platform
• 4:57
  public image. Efforts to address these
• 4:59
  concerns, such as the planned opening of a trust and Safety
• 5:02
  center, are under way, but the effectiveness of these measures
• 5:06
  remains to be seen. Now, X is facing a significant
• 5:09
  challenge here with the prevalence of bots and fake
• 5:12
  traffic on this platform. This issue is not only affecting
• 5:16
  user experience but also poses a problem for advertisers who are
• 5:19
  relying on genuine engagement. And the data provided by CHEQ
• 5:23
  highlights the extent of the problem, which has reached
• 5:25
  unprecedented levels under the current ownership the
• 5:28
  sensitating urgent and effective solutions to restore trust and
• 5:32
  integrity to the platform. Hey, thank you so much for
• 5:38
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 5:40
  support. If you could take a second and
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  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
• 5:47
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously. And you'll.
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  Never miss an episode and each episode is about 10 minutes or
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  less to get you caught up quickly.
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  And please, if you want to support the show even more, go
• 5:59
  to patreon.com/stage Zero and please take care of yourselves
• 6:05
  and each other. I'll see you tomorrow.