Quote:
Elon Musk says Twitter has to show spam accounts are less than 5% for takeover to go ahead
The billionaire Tesla founder steps up his efforts to reduce the price tag he has agreed to pay for the social media platform by demanding Twitter publicly declare a true figure for fake accounts.
Elon Musk has warned his planned $44bn (£34.6bn) deal to buy Twitter will not move forward until the company's chief executive publicly shows proof the platform has less than 5% spam accounts.
The world's richest man, who revealed last Friday that the takeover was "on hold" over the issue, said his offer to buy the company was based on filings by Twitter to the US markets regulator SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
Twitter estimates that the number of spam/fake accounts represent less than 5% of users but has admitted a constant battle to eliminate them.
They include so-called bots - automated accounts which have the potential to ply the platform with spam and potentially harmful activity.
They are programmed to perform multiple tasks like a human user, including things like retweeting posts.
It sounds harmless enough except for the fact bots across social media are blamed for influencing elections, conducting misinformation campaigns and terrorising individuals or groups.
The billionaire suspects fake accounts make up at least 20% of users - damaging the landscape for advertisers.
Twitter has adopted a strategy used to prevent hostile takeovers after Elon Musk offered to buy the company outright
He wrote on Twitter early on Tuesday: "My offer was based on Twitter's SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter's CEO publicly refused to show proof of under 5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does."
Musk appears to be using the issue as a way to force down the agreed price for the takeover - with Twitter's shares suffering amid the acrimony being played out in public.
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https://news.sky.com/story/elon-musk...rward-12615034
I wonder if he is related to Donald Trump