Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
One of Elon Musk’s first (and most controversial) decisions as CEO of Twitter was to make changes to Twitter Blue. Most notably, adding account verification as a perk of the monthly subscription service. This immediately led to accounts impersonating celebrities, brands, and other notable people, to some quite disastrous effects. It caused the service to have its relaunch delayed to the end of November, but it looks like it’ll take a bit longer. Elon Musk has announced that Twitter Blue has been delayed while the company figures out how to handle impersonation.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted yesterday about the change in plans for Twitter Blue’s relaunch. “Holding off relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation,” it reads. “Will probably use different color check for organizations than individuals.”
When Twitter allowed any user with $8 to buy a checkmark, it didn’t take long for users to pose as major brands or news outlets, wreaking havoc on the social media platform. Most notably, Eli Lily shares crashed after a fake (but verified) Twitter account stated that the company would be offering insulin for free. It was a large enough issue that the actual Eli Lily had to release a statement saying that wasn’t the case.
There were also several instances of users impersonating Elon Musk himself as a demonstration of just how easy it is to pose as others and spread misinformation on the social media platform. Comedian and actress Kathy Griffin was banned from the platform for impersonating the billionaire CEO, but that was recently reversed.
How exactly Twitter will be able to prevent users from impersonating others while still utilizing the paid verification system remains unknown. With the relaunch of Twitter Blue delayed from its late November release date, we’ll be watching closely for additional details. Stick with Shacknews for the latest developments at Twitter.