Just days after introducing it as part of many changes, Elon Musk-led Twitter on Friday suspended the subscription-based blue tick verification labels as it was unavailable on Friday. The social media platform has decided to charge $8 to users who wanted that premium blue tick verification badge, but as the service was launched, many fake “verified” accounts cropped up on Twitter, forcing the platform to re-think its decision.
Earlier, blue tick verification was provided to noted personalities in various fields like entertainment, politics, journalism, etc. to avoid impersonation, but as Tesla co-founder Elon Musk took over the social media giant in a $44 billion takeover deal, the company decided to make amends to the verification policy and decided to provide blue tick to anyone to is ready to pay $8 for the service.
After the introduction of the service, various fake accounts even of Elon Musk’s own Tesla, SpaceX cropped up with a blue tick. An imposter account even tweeted that ‘insulin is free’ after which pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. had to tweet an apology.
Currently, there are two sorts of verified accounts on Twitter, one which is verified before Musk’s takeover and notes that “This account is verified because it’s notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category.” The other verified account is of the users who subscribed to the service of Twitter Blue at $8.
The charge for the blue tick badge was necessitated as experts believe that the $44 billion deal was too expensive for Musk and he is realizing that now. He has sold shares worth billions from his other company Tesla and has also accessed funding from the markets. Several advertisers have halted their advertisements on Twitter as they are figuring out the policies of the new leadership and the recent chaos of fake accounts will make them more skeptical.
Elon Musk has also warned Twitter employees to brace for long hours of work as the company looks toward bankruptcy. The warning came as the US regulator pointed out the exit of the company’s trust and safety leader and other senior executives of the company.
In his first company-wide email, Musk warned that Twitter will not “survive the upcoming economic downturn” if it fails to boost subscription revenue to offset falling advertising income, three people who have seen the message told news agency Reuters.
With inputs from agencies
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