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Science & Tech
Liam O'Dell
Nov 09, 2022
Related video: Elon Musk reportedly considers putting all of Twitter behind a paywall
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The so-called ‘blue tick’ of Twitter (which is actually white) used to be prestigious and sought after by users of the social media platform, reserved for “notable” high-profile individuals and public figures, but new owner Elon Musk has plans to change that.
The Tesla founder and tech billionaire bought the company last month, and later announced a new verification policy where users could purchase the blue badge for $8 a month, as part of the Twitter Blue paid subscription offer.
In a series of tweets posted on 1 November, Musk wrote: “Twitter’s current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls***.
“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”
He added Twitter Blue would also grant users “priority” in the algorithm for replies and mentions; the ability to post longer audio and videos; and “half as many ads”.
Apparently, the new initiative will “democratize journalism and empower the voice of the people”.
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Yet it seems it will simply create a new “lords and peasants system”, with some users already planning to “bully” those who would pay the sum just for a blue tick:
\u201cThis boy paid $8/month for Twitter Blue.\u201d— Oliver Darko (@Oliver Darko) 1667678837
\u201cSooooooooo do we all agree to bully people who have paid \u20ac8 a month for a check next to their username?\u201d— Circleboi: Festive edition (@Circleboi: Festive edition) 1667681906
\u201cif I ever see any of my followers with the 8$ a month paid check mark, I\u2019m gonna bully you ~ \ud83d\udc95\u201d— \ud83c\udf52 Riin \ud83c\udf52|\u2728WORKING ON COMMS\u2728| - \u2615 (@\ud83c\udf52 Riin \ud83c\udf52|\u2728WORKING ON COMMS\u2728| - \u2615) 1667729255
Though on Tuesday, the new verification policy was clarified by a Twitter employee, and the whole proposal was mocked once more.
Esther Crawford, who works on early stage products at the social media company, tweeted: “A lot of folks have asked about how you’ll be able to distinguish between Twitter Blue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the ‘official’ label to select accounts when we launch.
“Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘official’ label and the label is not available for purchase. Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.”
This is despite the accounts of prominent politicians and government departments – such as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron – already having labels on their account stating they are government officials.
Essentially, Twitter Blue subscribers will have paid for verification, but won’t be officially verified – got it?
Ms Crawford’s tweets have since received mass ridicule from users, who have pointed out that the ‘official’ label sounds like verification on top of the original verification:
\u201c@esthercrawford @TwitterBlue Why wouldn't it be a different color checkmark? You expect people to click into a profile to check if it's official? Won't you run into the same issues as current parody accounts that Elon hates so much where vital information is missing\u201d— Esther Crawford \u2728 (@Esther Crawford \u2728) 1667946585
\u201c@esthercrawford @ParkerOrtolani @TwitterBlue So why bother giving the checkmark to everyone who pays for it in the first place? Seems redundant\u201d— Esther Crawford \u2728 (@Esther Crawford \u2728) 1667946585
\u201c@esthercrawford @TwitterBlue So you guys made Verification public... only to put another layer of verification on top of it??\u201d— Esther Crawford \u2728 (@Esther Crawford \u2728) 1667946585
\u201c@esthercrawford @TwitterBlue So...\n\nYou reinvented verification.\u201d— Esther Crawford \u2728 (@Esther Crawford \u2728) 1667946585
\u201c@esthercrawford @TwitterBlue ??? A verification process for verified users. Am I missing sth., so basically the blue check mark is just a sign "I paid 8$" no verification process besides the instructions in place to basically be able to transfer money?!\nSoo weird.\u201d— Esther Crawford \u2728 (@Esther Crawford \u2728) 1667946585
\u201c@esthercrawford @TwitterBlue\u201d— Esther Crawford \u2728 (@Esther Crawford \u2728) 1667946585
\u201c@esthercrawford @TwitterBlue what if u just gave some people 2 blue checkmarks. and then if ppl want more checkmarks they can keep paying $8 and get more checkmarks. maybe let people buy as many as 10 or so checkmarks? i think i have solved your problems.\u201d— Esther Crawford \u2728 (@Esther Crawford \u2728) 1667946585
\u201cWhen you decide to sell user verification checkmark to everyone for no reason, but then realize you still need a way to verify users, so you introduce a new verification checkmark which you have to visit their profile to see\u201d— malwaretech@infosec.exchange (@malwaretech@infosec.exchange) 1667970060
\u201cAmazing. They made verified accounts so pointless they had to wallpaper over them\u2026 with verified accounts.\n\nTwitter is now at Police Academy levels of ridiculous.\u201d— Commander Stephanie Sterling (@Commander Stephanie Sterling) 1667967886
\u201cthey let people buy the blue check mark and then added a new check mark that you can't buy, so that you can't buy the check mark that you can buy\n\ud83d\udc4d\u201d— berd (@berd) 1667956586
\u201cVERIFIED 2 JUST DROPPED LMAO THIS APP IS A HELLSCAPE\u201d— The Dude (@The Dude) 1667956483
\u201cSo Twitter is:\n\nRemoving \u201celite\u201d status by letting everyone pay to have the status symbol\n\nRemoving all status from that symbol\n\nAdding a new symbol\n\nGiving the new symbol \u201celite\u201d status\u201d— Eddy Burback (@Eddy Burback) 1667954288
Our head hurts, so we can understand why others might be feeling a bit ticked off (sorry) by Twitter’s new changes.
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