LeBron James a Twitter VIP Along with Elon Musk: What Does It Mean?
NBA's "The King," LeBron James, is allegedly among a select group of users on the Twitter VIP list who receives increased visibility and account monitoring based on documents discovered by Platformer.
Platformer's managing editor, Zo Schiffer, cited internal Twitter documents identifying 35 VIP users whose messages are watched over and given more exposure, according to Clutch Points.
After the change in ownership, Twitter informed verified users that their blue check marks would be removed unless they became paid subscribers for the site, which the site says costs around $8 per month.
"It's more about treating everyone equally," Elon Musk said in response to William Shatner on Monday. "There shouldn't be a different standard for celebrities, imo."
It’s more about treating everyone equally. There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities imo. https://t.co/rWi99sGPdq
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
Despite Musk's call for equality, Platformer contends that the platform has kept a list of approximately 35 VIP users whose accounts have increased visibility.
Along with Elon Musk are several journalists, famous people, and politicians.
The list's first entry was LeBron James, along with others like President Joe Biden, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Daily Wire creator, and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.
"Twitter engineers have ensured that tweets by these VIP users will automatically be more visible than others... The VIP users' tweets also bypass a Twitter algorithm which prevents too many posts from a particular user from being viewed," wrote Aditi Bharade of Business Insider.
While it is easy to see LeBron James's tweets and have a massive following, validating Platformer's claims without the documents being made public is challenging.
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How Do Engineers Allegedly Boost the VIPs and LeBron James Twitter Posts?
Engineers at Twitter are allegedly tasked to modify the system's algorithm to keep Elon Musk Twitter posts more prominent than those of other users, as reported by Platformer.
Twitter developers helped Musk and other prominent users like LeBron James get around visibility restrictions, so their content started showing up more often in the "For You" suggestions feed, per the NY Post.
A user's "For You" feed on Twitter is curated by an algorithm to include messages from accounts the user already follows and suggestions from those accounts.
AOC, Who's on Twitter VIP List, Slams Elon Musk for Plans to Remove Twitter's Legacy Blue Checkmark
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of Congress and included in the Twitter VIP list, criticized Elon Musk Twitter for its decision to remove the traditional blue confirmed checkmarks starting April 1, Insider reported.
The legacy verified feature, which allowed users to display blue checkmarks next to their names, will soon be discontinued, Twitter revealed on Thursday.
The business announced that users could retain their checkmarks by enrolling in the Twitter Blue membership program for $8 monthly.
"Last time they tried this, someone pretended to be Eli Lilly and tanked their stock price by pretending insulin was free," AOC tweeted.
"And they're rolling this out on April Fool's day," she said on a separate Tweet.
"Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations," Musk tweeted on Monday.
Elon Musk added that it is the best possible response to the swarm of advanced AI bots, or it will be a losing battle.
"Voting in polls will require verification for the same reason," he concluded.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
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