Earlier, Elon Musk suggested combining the tick icon with “Twitter Blue”, a formerly separate subscription service available on Twitter. We remind you that the checkmark actually confirms that the Twitter user is a real person or organization and that the page is official.

This means that while verification has been free from the start, verified accounts have to pay to keep their checkmarks.

Very strange decision.

This decision itself is questionable, but according to internal documents obtained by The New York Times, Twitter followers of Blue You won’t even have to verify your identityto get a ticked checkmark. This seems awful for at least two reasons.

• For one, it’s a lot like Musk wanting to sell trendy badges to people who just want to spread fake influence.
• Second, if the verification process really is as sloppy as it sounds, the change could allow scammers to impersonate any public figure they want.

Everything is upside down

The new Twitter Blue program will launch on November 7 in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (according to internal documentation). There isn’t much time left to prepare for something that could potentially change the entire social networking paradigm. Especially when the company is in a mess of layoffs, lawsuits and general dissatisfaction.

To show how much Musk truly “cares” for the company, Twitter went on to lay off a large chunk of its staff. 7500 people.

At the very least, the documents state that there will be a “temporary” period that will allow verified accounts to retain their badges before being charged, as well as plans to allow public accounts to remain verified without subscriptions.

Twitter is in danger

However, it is difficult to see the meaning of having a verified badge if anyone can get it without verifying their identity, which makes it not only pointless but also dangerous.

But at the end of the day, extorting money from a website that Musk had to pay so much for is just one of his silly but cynical plans.