Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has stirred yet another controversy, this time regarding the algorithm that flags unrelated content as sensitive. Unfortunately, even legendary rock band The Kinks are not immune to the issues caused by the platform’s flawed algorithm, as Dave Davies, one of the band’s surviving members, recently tweeted the Tesla CEO to address the issue urgently.
The Kinks have recently announced their latest project, a two-disc compilation album titled ‘The Journey – Part 1,’ which features songs handpicked by the band’s surviving members. Set to be released in March, the album marks the beginning of a two-year celebration of the band’s 60th anniversary.
However, Dave Davies’ attempts to promote the new album on Twitter have hit a major roadblock. No matter what form of media he shared, whether it was a YouTube video or a TikTok, the platform flagged the content as sensitive. It seems that the algorithm had an issue with the band’s name itself.
Frustrated by this ongoing issue, Dave Davies took to Twitter to implore Elon Musk to take action. He called on Musk to intervene and put a stop to Twitter’s flagging of ‘sensitive content’ related to The Kinks, pointing out that they were just trying to promote their music. However, it appears that Twitter’s algorithm is unable to distinguish between “The Who” and “WHO” as well, as pointed out by The Wall Street Journal editor, Ethan Smith.
Furthermore, Davies also noticed a tweet promoting their new album ‘Journey’ that censored the band’s name as ‘the K*nks.’ Fed up with Twitter’s pointless warnings, he replied ironically, suggesting that they probably meant ‘The Kinks.’
In a tweet addressed to Elon Musk, Dave Davies said:
“Dear Elon Musk, could you please ask Twitter to stop flagging everything related to ‘The Kinks’ as sensitive content? We are simply trying to promote our music.”
One of his followers responded:
“The algorithm is also unable to distinguish between ‘The Who’ and ‘WHO.’ The AI bots are definitely coming for us!”
Upon seeing a tweet that censored the band’s name, Dave Davies replied:
“You mean ‘The Kinks’.”
It seems that The Kinks are not alone in their grievances with Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, as Sebastian Bach has previously criticized the Tesla CEO for not being able to follow some of his fans due to reaching his ‘following limit.’ Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the issues with Twitter’s algorithm will be resolved anytime soon.
The algorithm also can’t distinguish between the Who and the WHO.
The AI bots are definitely coming for us!
— Ethan Smith (@ethanwsj) February 16, 2023
You mean the Kinks https://t.co/uWxkYTdmqc
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) February 18, 2023
