People walk outside Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.
Jeff Chiu/AP
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Jeff Chiu/AP
People walk outside Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.
Jeff Chiu/AP
BOSTON – Elon Musk tweeted Sunday that Twitter will permanently suspend any account on the social media platform that impersonates another.
The platform’s new owner issued the warning after several celebrities changed their Twitter display names – not their account names – and posted as ‘Elon Musk’ in response to the billionaire’s decision to provide verified accounts for all newcomers for 8 months, while he simultaneously fired a large part of the workforce.
“Going forward, any action by Twitter that engages in parody without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” Musk wrote. While Twitter previously issued warnings before suspensions, now that it’s giving “extensive verification, there will be no warning.”
In fact, “any name change at all” would force the temporary loss of a verified control mark, the world’s richest man said.
Comedian Kathy Griffin had her account suspended on Sunday after changing her screen name to Musk. She told a Bloomberg reporter that she had also used his profile picture.
“I guess not ALL content moderators were let go? Lol,” Griffin then joked on Mastodon, an alternative social media platform where she created an account last week.
Actor Valerie Bertinelli had similarly adopted Musk’s screen name — posting a series of tweets in support of the Democratic candidate on Saturday before switching back to her real name. “Okey-dokey. I had fun and I think I got my point across,” she tweeted afterward.
Before the stunt, Bertinelli noted the original purpose of the blue verification dot. It was given free to people whose identities Twitter employees had confirmed; with journalists making up a large proportion of the beneficiaries. “It would just say that your identity was verified. Fraudsters would have a harder time impersonating you,” Bertinelli noted.
“That doesn’t count anymore. Good luck out there!” she added.
The $8 verified accounts are Musk’s way of democratizing the service, he claims. On Saturday, a Twitter update for iOS devices listed in Apple’s app store said users who “sign up now” for the new “Twitter Blue with Verification” can get the blue check next to their names “just like celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow.”
He said the service would initially be available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. However, it was not available on Sunday and there was no indication when it would go live. A Twitter employee, Esther Crawford, told The Associated Press that it’s coming “soon, but it’s not launched yet.”
Twitter did not respond Sunday to an email seeking comment on the verified accounts issue and Griffin’s suspension.
Musk later tweeted: “Twitter must become the most accurate source of information for the world. That’s our mission.”
If the company were to remove blue checks from current verified users — something it hasn’t — it could exacerbate misinformation on the platform during Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Like Griffin, some Twitter users have already begun migrating off the platform — Counter Social is another popular alternative — after layoffs that began Friday reportedly affected about half of Twitter’s 7,500-strong workforce. They fear that a breakdown in moderation and vetting could create a disinformation free-for-all on what has been the Internet’s main channel for reliable communications from public agencies and other institutions.
Many companies have stopped advertising on the platform out of concern that it could become more unruly under Musk.
Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of security and integrity, tried to calm such concerns in a tweet on Friday. He said the company’s front-line content moderation staff were the group least affected by the job cuts.
Musk tweeted late Friday that he had no choice but to cut jobs “when the company is losing over $4 million a day.” He did not elaborate on the daily losses on Twitter and said the employees who lost their jobs were offered three months’ severance pay.
