Twitter API changes crush @PossumEveryHour and other good bots

Another day, another Twitter apocalypse. This time Elon Musk’s company is purging some of the most popular automated accounts from its platform.Little by little over the past few weeks, API access was suspended for a huge cluster of Twitter’s most beloved bots. The suspensions were revealed when Twitter accounts that normally post automated pictures or memes suddenly posted on the site that they are being forced to shut down. Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) Over the past 24 hours alone, Twitter suspended API access for numerous bot accounts that post photos of animals. Far from being a nuisance, accounts of this type tend to rack up large fanbases. For instance, @PossumEveryHour, which posts photos of possums for its more than 500,000 followers, announced it would be shutting down after losing API access on Friday night. @hourlywolvesbot, which tweets wolf pics for its more than 173,000 followers, also announced it would no longer be posting to Twitter for the same reason.Other animal picture-posting bot accounts that have announced they’d no longer be able to post on Twitter include @CorgiEveryHour, @HourlyCheetahs, and @HourlyLynxes. Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) “This app has violated Twitter’s Rules and policies,” reads the message provided to the suspended bot accounts in Twitter’s developer portal. “As a result, it can no longer be accessed.”According to the creators of the bot accounts, it seems Twitter is suspending API access for bots that either don’t pay for an API subscription,…Twitter API changes crush @PossumEveryHour and other good bots