Elon Musk Hints At Twitter's Algorithm Going Open-Source 'Next Week'

Twitter CEO Elon Musk says the microblogging platform will open-source its algorithm next week.

Musk, who purchased the San Francisco-based company in October for $44 billion, was responding to a Twitter user who had written, “Now open source it, then we will be truly impressed.”

Musk replied, “Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm is made open source next week, but it will improve rapidly!”

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Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm is made open source next week, but it will improve rapidly!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2023

If this happens, TechCrunch reported that it would be one of the first commitments to open-sourcing Twitter’s algorithm with a deadline. It could also help keep lawmakers and regulators at bay since there is growing political interest regarding the functionality of social media platforms’ content suggestions, the report continued.

Even before taking over Twitter, Musk had expressed support for the idea that Twitter’s recommendation algorithm should be open-sourced.

Furthermore, the report stated, such a move by the microblogging site could also divert attention from reports that Musk asked Twitter engineers to investigate his falling engagement rates, which allegedly led to an algorithm modification that favored his tweets — a situation Musk now attributes to a bug.

Separately, Twitter plans to notify users if a Community Note is featured in a tweet they have replied to, liked, or retweeted to provide people “extra context that they might otherwise miss.” 

Community Notes was previously known as Birdwatch.

Musk called Community Notes "a game changer for combating wrong information.”

Nice work by Community Notes team!

In general, Community Notes is a game changer for combating wrong information. https://t.co/i8qo5QdHUQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2023

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