Elon Musk, LeBron, AOC Among New 'Twitter VIP' Group To Experience More Visibility Than Average Users

Elon Musk ordered Twitter to tweak its algorithm to increase the engagement of select users.

Tweets from three dozen "VIP users” will now experience longer visibility than the average user, reports the tech site Platformer.

The list includes the following:

Musk himself, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), LeBron James, Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro,  President Biden, journalist Glenn Greenwald, and YouTube personality MrBeast.

Elon Musk put in the command after growing frustrated that his tweets were generating less engagement than prior, a problem users of all followings have experienced since his takeover.

Apparently, the advent of the "For You" feature on the homepage has throttled the visibility of various accounts.

But the infamous “For You” recommendations tab is not going away. It's crucial to Musk's vision. In fact, said tab is how Twitter plans to increase visibility for "VIP users”

Tweets from the power group will populate more frequently and for longer under the "For You" tab, even if a user does not follow the accounts.

While the VIPs are not of one political ideology, it remains a type of engagement manipulation.

The tweak is the exact type of practice Musk vowed to derail upon purchasing the platform. He promised to let trends and engagement originate naturally.

That is the case no more.

Manufactured engagement

There was no need to install such a feature, one that will further throttle non-VIP users.

Musk has improved elements of Twitter since his purchase last year. Unlike previous ownership, he is transparent with his rulings.

He allows users to vote on key decisions, such as reinstating Donald Trump.

Twitter Files also affirmed suspicions that Twitter 1.0 acted as an agent to the government, by censoring accounts on its behalf. Musk undid that unconstitutional dynamic between the platform and the government.

Those are the positives.

Yet his purchase has brought a litany of negatives as well. As he notes, engagement is down. The site is often a glitchy mess.

Anyone with a few extra bucks now has a blue-check mark next to the handle, defeating the purpose of the symbol.

And the new "VIP" feature could prove to be Musk's most questionable decision yet.

All in, Twitter is better off than it was. But the former iteration's chief problem was inorganic engagement, a problem Musk is only escalating.