Bots Comprise Up to 23M of Twitter Users

Prospective advertisers may be more hesitant to turn to Twitter now that that social-media network has admitted that as many as 23 million of its active users aren’t actually humans. In its most recent financial filing, Twitter stated that up to 8 percent of the users that it considers “active” are bots, which are programmed to update “without any discernible additional user-initiated action.” Twitter also revealed that 11 percent of monthly active users (MAUs) accessed the network from applications, like Tweetbot, that the company doesn’t own. The newly clarified details and caveats to Twitter’s growth may deter potential advertisers who are banking on being viewed by, you know, actual human beings.