'This is troublesome': Internet slams Elon Musk as majority of X traffic during Super Bowl may have been fake

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Elon Musk's social media platform X captivated online audiences during its livestream of Super Bowl LVIII, boasting over 10 billion impressions and 1 billion video views.

However, a new report suggests those giant viewership numbers masked a bot epidemic behind the scenes. Cybersecurity firm CHEQ claims that a staggering 75.85% of traffic referrals from X to client websites during the big game weekend was fake, as reported by Mashable.

This casts serious doubts on the legitimacy and transparency of X's user metrics. As Musk touts record engagement, he continues struggling to curb an apparent flood of artificial activity that now dominates platform's discourse.

Bots have become visible part of experience on X in recent months

According to cybersecurity firm CHEQ, a staggering 75.85 percent of traffic referrals from X to its advertising clients' websites over Super Bowl weekend was fake. This shocking figure is based on an analysis of over 144,000 visits from X during the period from February 9 to February 12.

"I've never seen anything even remotely close to 50 percent, not to mention 76 percent," said CHEQ CEO Guy Tytunovich. "I'm amazed...I've never, ever, ever, ever seen anything even remotely close."

While bots have become an increasingly visible part of the experience on X in recent months, the scale of inauthentic activity suggested by this data exceeds even skeptical expectations.

Many frequent X posters have noticed their notifications and replies filling up with bot accounts. These fakes are often easy to spot, with randomly generated usernames, minimal posting history, and a tendency to spam followers with promotions or nonsensical AI-generated text.

Influx of fake accounts not gone unnoticed by those paying to promote content

The influx of fake accounts has not gone unnoticed by those paying to promote content on X's platform. Recent reports describe brands struggling to justify spending on X ads when metrics show engagements from countless bots rather than real human viewers.

In one case covered by The Guardian, small business owner Gene Marks spent just $50 on X ads. The site’s analytics dashboard claimed the campaign garnered 350 clicks out of 29,000 views, but the external site analytics showed no traffic actually originating from X at all.

Tytunovich suggests that up to half of internet traffic has typically been bots in the past. However, X appears more overwhelmed than ever before. "We protect a lot of our customers on Google Ads, YouTube and even TikTok," said Tytunovich, "and we’ve always said 50 percent [being fake traffic] is a bit opportunistic."

Internet erupts with concerns about X's potentially fake Super Bowl traffic

In response to the revelation about X's potentially fake Super Bowl traffic, the online community voiced their concerns with a variety of reactions. One X user expressed their disappointment, stating, "This is troublesome. I love the platform but not this… not the bots…" Another user remarked, "The new Twitter."

A third user shared a personal observation, saying, "My experience supports this. They're not hard to spot either. They follow around 5,000 accounts, but only have about 50 followers and maybe a couple of posts. @elonmusk complained about bots when he wanted to tank his purchase, but now he wants them to juice his ad sales."

Another individual echoed similar sentiments, commenting, "I don’t think these numbers are that shocking to anyone who has used the site consistently since the changeover." A fifth user remarked, "Wow. It has sure seemed that there are bots everywhere…."

Meanwhile, a sixth user concisely summarized their recent experiences on the platform, noting, "Pretty much my experience on this platform lately."

 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.