Elon Musk's Purge of Twitter Blue Checks Falls Flat, Targeting One High-Profile Account Instead.
In a bizarre move, Elon Musk's plan to eliminate the coveted blue check marks on Twitter has been watered down. The billionaire CEO had announced that he would begin winding down the blue checks granted under the old verification system on April 1, requiring users to pay $8 per month for Twitter Blue subscription service in order to stay verified. However, instead of targeting all legacy accounts with blue checks, Twitter has singled out one high-profile account - The New York Times.
The main account of the newspaper lost its blue check over the weekend after Musk tweeted that he would "take it off then" following a meme posted by an actor who had criticized the billionaire for his stance on journalism. This move has sparked confusion and raised questions about Twitter's verification system, with many users wondering why some accounts have retained their blue checks while others have been stripped of them.
Musk's intentions behind this change are unclear, but experts say that it could make it easier for scammers to impersonate high-profile users. The new label appended to legacy verified accounts now reads: "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." This changes the narrative around what it means to be verified on the platform.
The move comes after Musk has been criticized for his handling of the verification system, with many prominent users pushing back against the idea that they should have to pay for a feature that keeps them safe from impersonation. Twitter's blue bird logo was also replaced by dogecoin, which has seen its price surge 20% following the announcement.
Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks has raised concerns about the platform's ability to maintain high standards of authenticity and safety. By muddying the reason accounts are verified, the new label could risk creating more confusion and potentially making it easier for scammers to exploit. As Twitter continues to evolve under Musk's leadership, users will be watching closely to see how this move plays out.
Twitter has yet to respond to CNN's requests for comment on the matter.
In a bizarre move, Elon Musk's plan to eliminate the coveted blue check marks on Twitter has been watered down. The billionaire CEO had announced that he would begin winding down the blue checks granted under the old verification system on April 1, requiring users to pay $8 per month for Twitter Blue subscription service in order to stay verified. However, instead of targeting all legacy accounts with blue checks, Twitter has singled out one high-profile account - The New York Times.
The main account of the newspaper lost its blue check over the weekend after Musk tweeted that he would "take it off then" following a meme posted by an actor who had criticized the billionaire for his stance on journalism. This move has sparked confusion and raised questions about Twitter's verification system, with many users wondering why some accounts have retained their blue checks while others have been stripped of them.
Musk's intentions behind this change are unclear, but experts say that it could make it easier for scammers to impersonate high-profile users. The new label appended to legacy verified accounts now reads: "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." This changes the narrative around what it means to be verified on the platform.
The move comes after Musk has been criticized for his handling of the verification system, with many prominent users pushing back against the idea that they should have to pay for a feature that keeps them safe from impersonation. Twitter's blue bird logo was also replaced by dogecoin, which has seen its price surge 20% following the announcement.
Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks has raised concerns about the platform's ability to maintain high standards of authenticity and safety. By muddying the reason accounts are verified, the new label could risk creating more confusion and potentially making it easier for scammers to exploit. As Twitter continues to evolve under Musk's leadership, users will be watching closely to see how this move plays out.
Twitter has yet to respond to CNN's requests for comment on the matter.
meanwhile, th new label is just confusing everyone 
like, wut does "this account is verified because it's subscribed to twitter blue or is a legacy verified account" even mean lol? i thought getting verified was supposed 2 be about safety not about musk's ego 
. So they're gonna make it easier for scammers to impersonate high-profile users by messing up the verification system? It just feels like a big mess 
. And now The New York Times is like, "Hey, look at us we still have blue checks" 
while everyone else is like "what's going on?!" I don't get why they wouldn't go all in and make it clear what the deal is with the verification system. It's just gonna lead to more confusion and headaches for users 
. And can we talk about the whole dogecoin thing? Like, what does that even have to do with anything? 
... like, you'd think he'd just go after all the legacy accounts at once, but noooo, he had to pick on The New York Times instead 
. And now some people are saying it's gonna make it easier for scammers to mess with legit users? Um, didn't that whole thing about being verified supposed to be about keeping us safe? 
. I mean, it seems like a good way to make sure people aren't scammers on the platform, but now it's all confusing... one minute your account has that blue tick, next minute it doesn't. And what with The New York Times being the only one to lose their check 
. Can't help but wonder if he just wanted to stir up some drama 
.
. Can't we just keep the blue check system as is and make everyone pay $8 if they wanna be verified? 
... wait, no I'm not 
. I mean who needs blue checks anyway? 
It's overrated 
. But hold up, I just realized that targeting one high-profile account like The New York Times is kinda shady 
. And honestly, the label thing is weird... "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account" 
.
and now twitter blue is basically dogecoin which is just a joke at this point 
? It just seems like a weird way to test the waters and see how users react.
. But instead, Twitter is basically giving a wink-wink-nudge-nudge to everyone who's got the cash 
. Scammers can still make fake accounts look legit with some basic editing skills 
. And what about all the innocent users who are just trying to share their thoughts and ideas without getting caught up in the drama? Do they get to keep their blue checks or not? 
meanwhile scammers are just going to exploit the fact that some accounts have these new labels and others dont, it's just so sloppy 
! The fact that they're selectively applying their new verification system is total BS, you feel? One high-profile account gets taken down and everyone's all like "wait, why not others?" 
.
.