Twitter halts paid service ‘blue sign’ – two days after launch
- November 12, 2022
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Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk’s attempt to pay for so-called “blue marks” on the social network took two days and was halted by the mass emergence of fake
Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk’s attempt to pay for so-called “blue marks” on the social network took two days and was halted by the mass emergence of fake pages impersonating famous people and organizations.
The Washington Post writes about it on Friday, Ukrinform reported.
“Twitter has officially suspended the first major launch of Elon Musk’s product – a paid ‘blue label’ – after the site was flooded with misinformation.
On Wednesday, the company launched its Twitter Blue product. It allowed users who provided their Apple ID and phone number to pay $7.99 per month for verification, meaning that the account name matched the person’s name. Verified pages are marked with a blue checkmark so that the names of famous people, brands and organizations are not misused by others.
Almost immediately, users started abusing the new tool. Accounts impersonating politicians, including US President Joe Biden, as well as other famous people and brands, began to emerge.
For example, a fake account impersonating the name of basketball star LeBron James posted a spoof that the athlete allegedly wanted to sign a contract to transfer to another team. A text appeared on the page with the “verified” name of former president George Bush Jr.: “I miss the killing of Iraqis.” And on the fake account of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, there was information that insulin is now free – shared 3,000 times by other users.
Therefore, Twitter has already decided on Thursday evening to temporarily disable registration for the new service to fix problems with fake pages.
On Friday, US Congressman Edward Markey sent an official letter to Elon Musk with a few questions about the blue mark. Prior to that, a Washington Post journalist, with the congressman’s permission, opened an account in his name and paid for the blue tick to clearly demonstrate the danger of the decision of the new administration of the social network.
“Obviously, due to Twitter’s lax verification practices and obvious need for cash, anyone can pay eight dollars and impersonate someone else on your platform. Selling the truth is dangerous and unacceptable,” he said.
Twitter has yet to respond to these comments.
As Ukrinform reported, Elon Musk completed the acquisition of the Twitter platform for $44 billion in October.
Source: Ukrinform
I’m Maurice Knox, a professional news writer with a focus on science. I work for Div Bracket. My articles cover everything from the latest scientific breakthroughs to advances in technology and medicine. I have a passion for understanding the world around us and helping people stay informed about important developments in science and beyond.
