Twitter’s newly launched premium service (a service that grants a blue check validation label to anyone willing to pay $8 a month) has found the social media platform swept away by a deluge of fraudulent accounts endorsed by Twitter.
Then it went down on Friday. The latest move caps off the chaotic start of the new subscription service, one of the first big changes Elon Musk has made since buying the company two weeks ago.
Before he bought the company for his $44 billion, celebrities and journalists were issued “blue checks” verified by the platform.
Now anyone with a phone, a credit card, and $8 a month can buy one. But the new service quickly fell victim to scammers. Users have parodied everyone from Pope Francis to George W. Bush.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co had to apologize after a fraudulent account tweeted that insulin was free.
Accounts of Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, Musk’s own Tesla, SpaceX, and various professional athletes have all been impersonated.
Fake accounts could be the final straw for advertisers who have frozen their business on Twitter. Because Musk’s difficult move on the platform – which laid off half of its workforce and sparked a high-profile retirement – raises questions about its viability.
to “Blue Check” There are two categories and they look the same. One involved an account that was verified before Musk took command, stating, “This account was verified because it was notable in government, news, entertainment, or another specific category.” -One message that can be viewed by clicking the checkmark itself.
The other indicates that the account is subscribed to Twitter Blue.
An email sent to the Twitter press address was not responded to. The company’s communications department was devastated by layoffs.
On Thursday, Musk tweeted, “Too many corrupt Old Blue ‘verification’ ticks, so Old Blue will have no choice but to remove it in the coming months.
“Twitter Blue said that it’s version of the platform online is not available and that login is only available on it’s iPhone version.
However, the iPhone version didn’t have Twitter Blue as an option. Twitter has also reinstated the gray ‘official’ label on several high-profile accounts. They reappeared on at least a few accounts Thursday night. Many accounts disappeared again, which included Twitter’s own accounts, as well as big companies such as Amazon, Nike, and Coca-Cola.
