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Ariana Baio
Nov 14, 2022
Twitter trouble after Elon Musk sells account verification for fee
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Elon Musk's short-lived Twitter Blue verification system has landed him in some hot water with US Senator Ed Markey (D-MA).
On Friday, Markey, 76, sent a formal letter to Musk after a Washington Post reporter used Twitter Blue to make a fake Markey Twitter account and impersonate the Senator.
"Apparently due to Twitter's lax verification practices and apparent need for cash, anyone could pay $8.00 and impersonate someone on your platform," Markey wrote in the letter.
"Selling the truth is dangerous and unacceptable. Twitter must explain how this happened and how it will prevent it from happening again."
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Two days later, Musk responded to Markey's letter, "Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?"
After people began impersonating companies and celebrities, Musk required anyone pretending to be someone else to announce their account was a parody in the username.
He then added, "And why does your [profile pictures] have a mask!?
\u201c@SenMarkey @washingtonpost Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?\u201d— Ed Markey (@Ed Markey) 1668198109
Musk's dismissive response led to warnings from Twitter users who urged Musk to consider Markey's position on the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband as well as his position on the Subcommitte on Space and Science.
"Probably not a great idea to troll a high ranking Senator with a history of taking down rich people who just so happens to sit on multiple committees which regulate your businesses the day after his party retakes the Chamber," People for Bernie tweeted at Musk.
"You just unironically launched a senate investigation on yourself from this," Mahmoud wrote.
\u201c@elonmusk @SenMarkey @washingtonpost I'm just spitballing here but it might not be a good idea to mock a senator with direct oversight over your companies.\u201d— Ed Markey (@Ed Markey) 1668198109
Although Musk may have found his response amusing, Markey did not.
In a stern tweet, Markey wrote, "One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree. Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online. Fix your companies. Or Congress will."
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