Twitter’s relaunched premium service — which gives blue-checked “verification” tags to anyone willing to pay $8 a month — was unavailable Friday after the social media platform was inundated by a wave of Twitter-approved fraudulent accounts.
Before billionaire Elon Musk took control of the social media platform two weeks ago, the blue check was issued to celebrities, journalists and verified by the platform – precisely to prevent impersonation. Now, anyone can get one as long as they have a phone, a credit card and $8 a month.
After a fraudulent account registered on the revamped Twitter Blue system tweeted that insulin was free, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. had to post an apology. Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, Tesla and Musk’s own SpaceX were also imitated as well as the accounts of various professional sports figures.
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For advertisers who have suspended their business on Twitter, the fake accounts could be the last straw as Musk’s slide to the top of the platform — laying off half the workforce and triggering high-profile departures — raises questions about related to its survival.
There are now two categories of “blue checks” and they look identical. One involves verified accounts before Musk took over. It notes that “This account has been verified because it is visible in government, news, entertainment, or another specified category.” The other notes that the account is subscribed to Twitter Blue.
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An email sent to Twitter’s press address went unanswered. The company’s communications department was devastated by layoffs. On Thursday, Musk tweeted that “there are too many ‘verification’ checkmarks of corrupt Blue Legacy, so no choice but to remove Blue Legacy in the coming months.”
Twitter Blue was not available on the online version of the platform, which said registration was only possible on the iPhone version. But the iPhone version didn’t offer Twitter Blue as an option
Twitter also began adding gray “official” tags to some prominent accounts. She had released the tags earlier this week, only to kill them hours later.
They were back on Thursday night, at least for some accounts — including the Twitter account, as well as major companies like Amazon, Nike and Coca-Cola, before many disappeared again.
Celebrities also didn’t seem to be getting the “official” tag.
