My notifications on X seem to be filling up with comments like this, from accounts that aren’t following anyone and have no followers:

“Interesting read. Curious what @************** would make of this potential restructuring and its impact on vulnerable claimants.”

It’s a type of social media spam that’s been increasing on X (formerly Twitter). Let’s break it down carefully:

What’s happening

Fake engagement: accounts with no followers and following no one are leaving comments that look relevant, thoughtful, or conversational, often mentioning other users.

This is designed to appear legitimate and prompt curiosity.

Traffic redirection: by tagging another user, the spammer is hoping people will click through to that account, potentially exposing them to further spam, phishing, or promotional links.

Automated accounts: these are usually bot or “sock puppet” accounts. Their sole purpose is amplification or redirection, not real interaction.

Is this new?

Variants of this have existed for years, but X’s evolving algorithm and the relaxation of some spam controls after its ownership change have made these “comment spam” tactics more noticeable in the last six–12 months.

Yes, the problem is social media algorithms again!

The twist here is the sophisticated conversational tone, making it look like a legitimate engagement rather than just a generic “Check this out” link.

How to prevent or reduce it

Step 1: Enable quality filters

1. Open X and go to Settings → Privacy and Safety → Notifications.

2. Scroll to Filters and turn on Quality filter.

This hides low-quality content, including mentions from accounts with incomplete profiles or no followers.

Step 2: Filter mentions from unknown accounts

1. Still under Notifications → Filters: enable “Mentions from people you don’t follow”.

2. Optional: also enable “Mentions from accounts without a confirmed email or phone number”.

This ensures you only see comments from accounts with some verified presence, cutting down bot spam.

Step 3: Mute Problematic Words

1. Go to Settings → Privacy and Safety → Mute and Block → Muted Words.

2. Add phrases commonly used in spam comments, like:

   • “Interesting read”

   • “Curious what”

   • “Would make of this”

3. Make sure to mute them in notifications only, not from your timeline, so you don’t miss genuine posts that use the same words.

Step 4: Block or mute repeat offenders

1. If an account repeatedly tags random users in this spammy way, block or mute it.

2. Over time, this trains X’s algorithm to reduce visibility of similar accounts.

Step 5: Optional — limit notifications to people you follow

• If spam becomes overwhelming, you can set notifications to “Mentions from people you follow only”.

This is the most aggressive but guarantees almost no bot spam will reach you.