Eyebrows Raise When Elon Musk’s Twitter Engagement Shrivels After Destruction of Russian Data Centers

A Ukrainian president’s claim that three successful airstrikes on Russian data centers led to a decline in Russian bot activity on social media has sparked eyebrows. Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the attacks made it easier to "breathe" on many platforms, with less hate and division due to fewer bots. This comes as no surprise, given that data centers have become a frequent target during ongoing geopolitical conflicts, as seen in Iran's recent attacks on Middle Eastern AI data centers.

The impact seems to have reached Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, with users noticing a significant drop in his post engagement following the strikes. Zack "Jerry Rig Everything" Nelson tweeted that Musk's Twitter engagement dropped below 5,000 likes after receiving 4,900 likes. Musk's posts, which typically garnered 17,000 to 81,000 likes daily in October, plummeted to 11,000 and 8,000 likes in the past two days.

While a direct causal relationship cannot be established, the numbers are eye-catching. Cloudflare's analysis revealed a 99% decrease in traffic from Yandex following the strikes, though not all traffic was necessarily bot behavior.

Despite these speculations, Zelensky's office clarified that he was referring to the atmosphere on social media rather than a concrete reduction in bot activity. As the United States heads to the midterm elections, this development adds another layer of volatility to an already heated political climate, particularly regarding Russian interference. Elon Musk, a significant supporter of former president Donald Trump, has become an influential figure in these debates.