Claims About Twitter Being Bought by a Bot Are Satirical

Misbar looked into the claim and confirms that it is satirical.

Origins of the Claim

Misbar’s team looked into the origins of the satirical claim and found that it was published by The New Yorker as a satire under the title: “Twitter in Chaos After the Elon Musk Who Offered To Buy It Turns Out To Be a Bot,” as can be seen below.

Satire by the Borowitz Report

The Borowitz Report is a satirical news column with millions of readers. It was created in 2001 by the satirist and "Times" best-selling author, Andy Borowitz, and acquired by The New Yorker in 2012.

What Are Twitter Bots?

Automated Twitter accounts, or bots, are controlled by a software. Bots are designed to mimic the actions of authentic Twitter users, such as following other Twitter users, liking their posts, and commenting on them. For example, they may be used to boost the number of followers by tweeting and retweeting. It is also possible to use these bots to influence elections and to propagate political ideologies.

Elon Musk and Twitter Bots

Elon Musk declared a war on spam bots even before he bought Twitter. At a recent Ted  Talk, Musk announced that "A top priority I would have is eliminating the spam and scam bots and the bot armies that are on Twitter." 

Musk also announced his plans to eliminate spambots on Twitter.