Post

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
Click again on or Share Via icon
Click on Copy Link to Tweet
Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
More info at Twitter Help

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Dec 26, 2022 • 14 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X

Scrolly

In today's #vatnik soup I'll theorize what's happening with Twitter after Elon took over. As with all social media platforms, Twitter's algorithm is their best-kept secret and there is very little public information available on it.

1/14

Like other social media algorithms, Twitter's is probably powered by a machine learning (ML) components which means that it's constantly changing its behavior. It gets "training data" from the 900 million daily tweets posted on the platform.

2/14

https://twitter.com/ajkohn/status/705507890841255936

Social media ML algorithms are extremely complex, and engineers from Google and Facebook have said that they sometimes have hard time understanding their own ML algorithms:

https://twitter.com/ajkohn/status/705507890841255936

vice.com/en/article/y3p…

3/14

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1507041396242407424

On 24 Mar, 2022, when Musk was still planning the purchase, he held a poll about making the whole algorithm open source:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1507041396242407424

I very much doubt that this will happen - there are two elements that make a social media platform successful:

4/14

1) its algorithm, and 2) critical mass to make the platform lively.

So how does Twitter prioritize content? Instead of ordering tweets chronologically, it shows tweets dynamically based on various factors - who do you follow, whose tweets you've been reading, etc.

5/14

If you read some of Max Blumenthal's or Lauren Boebert's tweets out of curiosity, Twitter may show you more of this type of content. It of course prioritizes tweets from people you follow, but sometimes it makes these "detours" that change your Twitter feed.

6/14

Now, a bit of theorizing: I think that the algorithm was changed after the Russian invasion so that it would prioritize Ukraine-related content. This content was seen more often, gained more exposure, likes, re-tweets, etc.

7/14

https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1599834986713972736

This theory is supported by my own data, showing that engagement dropped by around 40%. This phenomenon was also supported by other, much more popular people:

https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1599834986713972736

8/14

I would also imagine that some more strict rules for prioritizing content related to COVID-19 were integrated during the first year of the pandemic. This was - based on my theory - done to control the spread of disinformation related to the pandemic.

9/14

So, I don't believe that Twitter started suppressing Ukraine-related content, but removed its prioritization instead.

Also, I don't think the Twitter Blue does anything yet, as Julia Davis, who saw a drastic drop in engagement, already has it.

10/14

Of course it's up to Twitter to decide if they want to boost specific type of content or not - as a private company they can "take sides" if they want as long as they follow the law.

One of the first promises of Elon was to get rid of Twitter's bots ...

11/14

... but the problem is not the bots, but the organic troll farms. Actual people are propagating and spreading state- and corporation-sponsored areas en masse, and these troll armies use brigading, spamming and spreading of disinformation as their weapons.

12/14

In one of my earlier soups I predicted that disinformation will spread faster and wider with the changes that Musk has made. I think that the more recent changes and Elon's tweets reinforce this prediction. Many known disinfo spreaders have also been reinstated on Twitter.

13/14

https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1601115023589658624

Elon hasn't made any comments about troll farms either, probably because it's such a huge problem that it's almost impossible to tackle.

My related soups:

Troll farms:

https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1601115023589658624

Manipulation:

https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1605106747575771138

Twitter Files:

https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1601540081281474560

14/14

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @P_Kallioniemi

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Jul 11

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we introduce Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a French far-left politician. He’s best known for founding the party La France Insoumise (“Unsubmissive France”), demanding submission from his own movement and advocating global submission to authoritarian dictators.

1/23

Mélenchon received his early political education in the Organisation communiste internationaliste, a Trotskyist-Lambertist communist group known for secrecy, rigid discipline and entryism. Lionel Jospin was also a member, and both later joined the Socialist Party.

2/23

Mélenchon was elected to the Senate and was a junior minister in Jospin’s government. He left the Socialist Party in 2008, co-founded the Left Party, then the Left Front alliance with the Communists & ran as its presidential candidate. He was also an MEP from 2009 to 2017.

3/23

Read 25 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Jun 28

In today’s Vatnik Soup and our “Degenerate Russia” series, we’ll discuss what kind of lowlifes sink low enough to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, lie on Russia’s behalf, promote Russian BS, and even gather in Moscow or St. Petersburg to help the Kremlin wage its war.

1/21

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1902351629258547584

For over a decade now and as part of their “firehose of falsehood” propaganda strategy, Russia has been spreading false narratives targeting right-wing/conservative audiences, portraying Russia as a bastion of Christian, traditional, family values.

Of course, it’s all BS.

2/21

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1902351629258547584

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/2009956574534742311

Russia is also normalizing relations with the Taliban, doesn’t recognize Hamas or Hezbollah as terrorist groups, and deepens its military partnership with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime that legalized pedophilia through child marriage.

3/21

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/2009956574534742311

Read 21 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Jun 6

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we introduce Vincent Bolloré, a French billionaire and media tycoon. He’s best known for building a powerful media empire and for reshaping editorial lines across French media and publishing, pushing them toward far-right and pro-Kremlin positions.

1/25

Born in 1952 in Boulogne-Billancourt to a family of industrialists, Vincent studied law at Paris Nanterre University. He took over the family business and turned it into a sprawling conglomerate spanning logistics, port infrastructure in Africa, advertising, and media.

2/25

Bolloré’s African logistics empire also became the subject of a long-running corruption investigation in France. Legal proceedings against Vincent Bolloré personally are still ongoing, with a trial planned in December, after a judge refused to approve a plea deal.

3/25

Read 25 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

Jun 4

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we’ll introduce an American conspiracy theorist, podcaster & antisemite, Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO). She’s best known for spreading conspiracy theories, attacking Ukraine, promoting pro-Kremlin BS, and becoming a favorite of Russian state media.

1/21

Candace started her career as an intern at Vogue magazine but later moved into political commentary. Her early career focused on criticizing Republicans, calling their antics “bat-shit crazy.” In 2016, her blog even published an article about Trump’s penis size.

2/21

That same year, she launched a doxxing website called SocialAutopsy. In response, people began posting Owens’s personal information online. During the controversy, she gained support from figures such as @Nero and @Cernovich. And just like that, she became a conservative.

3/21

Read 23 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

May 27

In today’s Wumao Soup, we’ll talk about Taiwan, the sovereign country the Chinese Communist Party insists is not a country, but constantly threatens to invade just like a country, while the “antiwar” crowd is eagerly encouraging them to start that war, endangering millions.

1/20

Taiwan is a country, a state. It has its own territory, government, army, police, courts, taxes, passports and elections, just like any other country.

The only difference? Its neighbor, imperialist China, wants to invade it, and other countries try to please the big bully.

2/20

Taiwan’s official name is the Republic of China, or ROC. The ROC was founded in 1912, after the fall of the Qing dynasty. The People’s Republic of China, or PRC, was founded by democidal dictator Mao Zedong and his communist party, in 1949, after fighting against the ROC.

3/20

Read 20 tweets

Vatnik Soup

@P_Kallioniemi

May 25

In today’s Vatnik Soup, we’ll introduce Russian propaganda operations around military targets like Starobilsk. For over a decade, the Kremlin has used similar strategies, combining crisis actors, “independent journalists” and fabricated evidence.

1/13

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1611980244252258304

First, let’s go back to 2014. Russia funded separatist groups and sent its mercenaries to Donbas, which led to the creation of two puppet states, Donetsk and Luhansk, governed by Russian propagandists and soldiers like Igor Girkin.

2/13

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1611980244252258304

The fake genocide was touted as one of the main reasons for Russia’s war during the early stages of the full-scale invasion, and the claim was made even by Putin himself. Before his mutiny, late Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said that all this was fabricated bullshit.

3/13