Twitter Demands Payment for Verification
By Marelin Bermeo ('23)
When Elon Musk came to the forefront of Twitter, acting as CEO, Twitter began removing the blue check marks from accounts that previously held them. Among these were celebrities, public figures, and journalists. Following through on the plan Musk propagated, he instituted an $8 a month subscription service which allocated a “verified” check to those that paid. With this attempt, Musk tried to incentivize a key revenue source.
The application of a subscription fee to the previously coveted Internet verification status, has devalued its meaning and subjected those who have paid for it to reeks of desperation. Many notable figures have not paid what Musk is asking for. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump have not paid and have subsequently had their verified status revoked. Much of the chaos this situation has provoked is largely due to the worry of being unable to identify whether an account is legitimate or not. Problematically, blue check marks have even been given to public figures known to be deceased. Washington Post Journalist Jamal Khassoggi, who was assassinated in 2018, and NBA Star Kobe Bryant, who died in a 2020 helicopter crash were among these. Twitter explains such incidents with the statement: “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number”.
Photo courtesy of egirism
Photo courtesy of Vox
Despite Musk's attempt in trying to curate a revenue source, he announced he was personally paying for the verification status of high-profile users, even those that explicitly expressed they did not want to partake in the subscription service.
Then, in a surprising reversal, blue check marks emerged once more to the Twitter profiles of multiple accounts with over 1 million followers. Stephen King openly spoke about wishing Musk would allocate the money he's wasting on verifying certain accounts to charities.
While in the past, in an effort to reduce the distribution of misinformation, certain accounts were verified, Musk's changes in allowing for the exchange of a fee for a verified status, have rendered the whole thing futile. That of which segues to implications that are likely to arise as time progresses. Based on the account's position as a verified profile, this new bogus "notability" could allow criminal actors to propagate falsehoods and scam people. In response to increasing reports of scams perpetrated by Twitter blue verified accounts, some agencies have issued consumer alerts.
While these actions violate the terms of service and community guidelines of social media platforms, these verified accounts may continue to spread misinformation and scam others until someone reports a problem. In the time it takes for someone from the social network to investigate reported users, a lot of damage could be done.
Some Twitter users are vehemently opposed to paid verification. To reduce the reach of accounts with the purchased blue checkmark, some accounts have even begun campaigns asking others to block Twitter Blue users. Many did not have to previously wonder whether a verified source on twitter was truthful, now it is imperative they do research themselves in an attempt to inform oneself properly and accurately.
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Cover photo courtesy of CNN