There’s been a cacophony of outrage on Twitter over the past few days as the platform’s old system of “verified” blue ticks, awarded to hand-picked users, has been scrapped in favor of a new system. open to all users willing to pay a subscription fee.
The new regime went into effect on 4/23/20 (another nod to perennial humorist Elon Musk’s “420” meme), and users who had been verified under the old system — mostly celebrities, journalists, and public figures — lost their badges. .
Those numbers can easily get their badges back by taking the $8 subscription option now available to all users, but many chose to be outraged when they lost their once-exclusive status badge. .
“So somebody can be me and say a bunch of profanity by pulling out a blue check because I don’t pay voluntary fees,” said Alyssa Milano. “Does this mean Twitter and Elon Musk are liable for defamation, impersonation or fraud?”
So the blue check was withdrawn because I wasn’t going to pay the arbitrary fees, someone could just be me and talk a bunch of shit. This means Twitter and @Elon Musk liable for defamation or identity theft or fraud?
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) April 20, 2023
“Ilon, I’m not me, I’ve decided that I’m a fake, and I’m going to oblige ME who contributed a lot to your platform (at least until I “fixed” the algorithm and changed my metrics) to be paid every month, because you “You don’t have enough money and you’re insulted because everyone thinks you’re a pathetic fool, it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever done,” said Bette Midler.
showering is the most fun thing you’ll ever do. Let it sink in. Sorry to hear about your rocket.
— BetteMidler (@BetteMidler) April 21, 2023
Left-wing journalist Dan Rather said: “Today proves once again that you can’t buy the course, but you can buy the blue tick.
Today is another proof that you can’t buy class, but you can buy blue ticks.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) April 21, 2023
“WE are content creators. WE are the reason advertisers are here. WE make all this content for FREE. YOU must pay the USA,” tweeted Mueller’s official account, a Trump-era podcast promoting the Russiagate hoax.
WE are content creators. WE are the reason advertisers are here. WE make all this content for FREE. YOU must pay us. Paying for a blue label would be like charging musicians to be listened to on Spotify. Twitter is not a SERVICE. This is a PLATFORM. https://t.co/v7mcjBhqIe
— Mueller, she wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) April 21, 2023
owners joe in the morning condemned the “chaos” of the change, including its potential effects on “democracy”.
morning joe show is going to be crazy #Elon MuskBlue badge on Twitter #system“It’s a total mess. . . . It causes a lot of trouble.”
“Well, you have the option of paying $8 for Twitter Blue.” pic.twitter.com/gKhH0KyHne
— Whatfinger News (@Whatfinger1) April 21, 2023
“Today I lost my blue tick and saved $8 a month and my dignity,” said liberal author John Pavlovich. “I will win.”
Today I got rid of the blue tick and saved myself $8 a month and my dignity. i win
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) April 21, 2023
Originally designed to protect high-profile individuals from identity theft, Twitter’s blue badge has quickly become a reward for privileged users, a wake-up call from the company’s employees, who have many inconsequential accounts with fewer than ten thousand verified followers.
Additionally, Twitter denied verified status to popular conservative and anti-Republican accounts, including James O’Keefe and Julian Assange.
Musk’s introduction of a paid verification system ends the previous, one-sided regime, but also creates its own set of problems, such as scammers and copycats trying to make the blue check more authentic.
The new system also has potential benefits. This increases the costs of managing effective spambots, as unverified accounts are forced to compete with a much larger mass of verified accounts that may be favored by Twitter’s algorithm.
Over the weekend, Musk appeared to at least give in to some of his old army of blue ticks, ensuring that he checks the accounts of celebrities without any logic in his choices.
Allum Bokhari is a senior technology reporter at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Shut Down the Trump Movement and Steal the Election.
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