Elon Musk's plan for a Twitter purge of blue check marks has backfired, with the billionaire executive instead targeting one high-profile account - that of The New York Times. In April, Musk announced that he would be winding down blue checks granted under Twitter's old verification system, and users would have to pay $8 per month to join the platform's Twitter Blue subscription service in order to stay verified.
However, most legacy blue check holders woke up on Saturday expecting to lose their coveted blue verification marks. Instead, they found that their marks had been appended with a new label reading: "This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." The language makes it unclear whether verified accounts are actually notable individuals or simply users who have paid to join Twitter Blue.
But one high-profile account did lose its blue check over the weekend - The New York Times. The main account for the newspaper had previously told CNN that it would not pay for verification, and Musk responded in a tweet saying "Oh ok, we’ll take it off then." Musk then lashed out at the Times in a series of tweets claiming that the outlet's coverage is boring and "propaganda."
The move has sparked confusion and whiplash among Twitter users, including many high-profile accounts. The billionaire executive often appears to guide decisions about the platform by whim rather than policy, with the new label potentially making it easier for people to scam or impersonate verified users.
Experts have said that reserving verification for paid users may not reduce the number of bots on the site, an issue Musk has raised on and off over the past year. Meanwhile, Musk claims that changes to Twitter's verification system are a way of "treating everyone equally," but critics argue that this is simply a smokescreen for his own financial interests.
Musk's plan to drive revenue through paid features such as blue checks may also be motivated by his significant debt burden after buying Twitter for $44 billion. The billionaire executive has been using the platform to promote his other business ventures, including cryptocurrency dogecoin, which saw its price surge 20% on Monday after Musk tweeted about it.
Overall, Elon Musk's plan for a Twitter purge of blue check marks has backfired, with confusion and controversy surrounding the new labeling system.
However, most legacy blue check holders woke up on Saturday expecting to lose their coveted blue verification marks. Instead, they found that their marks had been appended with a new label reading: "This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." The language makes it unclear whether verified accounts are actually notable individuals or simply users who have paid to join Twitter Blue.
But one high-profile account did lose its blue check over the weekend - The New York Times. The main account for the newspaper had previously told CNN that it would not pay for verification, and Musk responded in a tweet saying "Oh ok, we’ll take it off then." Musk then lashed out at the Times in a series of tweets claiming that the outlet's coverage is boring and "propaganda."
The move has sparked confusion and whiplash among Twitter users, including many high-profile accounts. The billionaire executive often appears to guide decisions about the platform by whim rather than policy, with the new label potentially making it easier for people to scam or impersonate verified users.
Experts have said that reserving verification for paid users may not reduce the number of bots on the site, an issue Musk has raised on and off over the past year. Meanwhile, Musk claims that changes to Twitter's verification system are a way of "treating everyone equally," but critics argue that this is simply a smokescreen for his own financial interests.
Musk's plan to drive revenue through paid features such as blue checks may also be motivated by his significant debt burden after buying Twitter for $44 billion. The billionaire executive has been using the platform to promote his other business ventures, including cryptocurrency dogecoin, which saw its price surge 20% on Monday after Musk tweeted about it.
Overall, Elon Musk's plan for a Twitter purge of blue check marks has backfired, with confusion and controversy surrounding the new labeling system.
they were like "we're not paying for verification" and musk is all "ok cool we'll take it off then lol". this whole thing is such a mess, who's gonna be verified now? just people who pay $8/month 
and honestly, i think musk is doing this just to make some cash after buying twitter for 44 billion 
, not really about treating everyone equally like he says 
anyway, it's all super confusing now and i hope they fix it soon 
And then he goes and targets @nytimes, the main account they're basically cutting off their own nose to spite their face lol. I mean, come on Elon, if you wanna make money off Twitter Blue, just be clear about it from the start instead of being all vague and confusing 
. And what's with the debt burden excuse? Dude, you bought Twitter for $44 billion and now you're whining about debt 
. I don't think it's fair to just throw people into a pool and say "oh well" if they can't afford it. It's like, we get it, you're trying to make money, but not at the expense of clarity or trust on Twitter 
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. I mean, what if someone just pays $8 a month and starts impersonating someone? It's like, how do we even verify that? 
. Like, experts are saying it won't reduce them, but still... shouldn't Musk be trying to figure out ways to keep those pesky bots from ruining our timelines?
. It feels like he's more interested in promoting his own dogecoin than actually fixing Twitter 
Musk really thinks he can just rebrand verification as "equal" treatment but we all know that's just a fancy way to say "pay us or lose your badge" 
I'm so done with this move by Elon Musk 
And what about all the scammers and bots who are gonna take advantage of this new system? It's a recipe for disaster 
. I swear, Musk needs to get his act together before it's too late 
. I mean, it's one thing to be skeptical about verification but come on, @elonmusk, you're making a move like this without even thinking through the implications? It's like he's trying to prove a point by taking away the credibility of reputable accounts 
. I mean, when you try to change something as fundamental as how verification works on Twitter, it's gonna cause some ripples. But instead of a big overhaul, we're seeing a whole lot of chaos and confusion 
. I guess you could say Musk's plan was like trying to put a square peg in a round hole – it just didn't fit 
.
. And who knows, maybe this is an opportunity for some folks to showcase their creativity and come up with some innovative solutions 
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. and now The New York Times has lost their blue check mark? 
what's next, huh? are we gonna have to start paying to be taken seriously online? 
. and can we talk about how confusing the new label is? 
, but what's good with these labels tho? Like they're basically saying "we got verified cuz you paid us" instead of "you're a notable person". It's all about the benjamins, fam 
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but honestly who needs a label on their profile when u can just pay $8 a month to keep ur blue tick anyway lol 
. Maybe Musk should've thought this one through better? Anyway, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out 
.
. Anyway, I hope Twitter gets back on track soon and stop all this drama 
.