Despite the threat of bans, some Twitter users created fake accounts with celebrity names after the verification system was changed. The check tick scopes, which Twitter is breaking new ground by offering subscription customers, were immediately misused for misleading posts.
On Wednesday it was announced via basketball star LeBron James’s alleged account that he wanted to leave the Los Angeles Lakers. It was easy to believe the account was real: next to the athlete’s name was the familiar white check mark on a blue background, and the account name was also confusingly similar: “@KINGJamez” instead of real ” @KingJames “. The account was blocked, but only after it had already received wider attention.
It also hit Nintendo
Twitter media tweeted that such cases are being prosecuted “aggressively”. However, fake accounts have also been created for other athletes, celebrities and companies. It hit game companies Nintendo and Valve, among others, and sometimes an alleged Donald Trump account also made it back to Twitter. The former president has been banned from Twitter since January 2021 after making kind comments about his supporters storming the Capitol in Washington.
The verification tick was previously reserved for celebrities, politicians, organizations and companies whose identity was verified by Twitter. With the new system, everyone who takes out a subscription for eight dollars a month gets it. There is no longer an exam. Twitter boss Elon Musk said he assumed that authentication via payment services and app platforms and the risk of losing the account and money paid in the event of a breach offer sufficient protection against abuse.
Sometimes, previous verified account owners were promised an additional gray tick with the word “Official”. In a U-turn, Musk halted his launch Wednesday after just a few hours. It is not clear if he will return. When you click the check mark, the text that appears shows whether it is a past verified account or one of the new subscription symbols. So far the eight-dollar subscription is only available in some countries.
Another manager is eliminated
Meanwhile, the exodus of executives from Twitter continues. Former head of information security, Lea Kissner, announced her departure on Thursday. She initially did not provide information on the reasons, on Twitter she described the move as a “difficult decision”.
It is not clear who is doing the work now. Elon Musk fired CEO Parag Agrawal and other senior executives soon after completing the Twitter purchase, then dissolved the board and made himself “sole director”.
Are you heading towards an all-purpose app?
The tech billionaire announced the reorganization of account verification as one of the first steps following the $ 44 billion acquisition of Twitter. He announced that existing verified account holders who don’t want to pay eight dollars a month will lose their ticks within months. And over time, tweets from subscription customers should take priority over the platform.
In an online conversation with advertisers, Musk announced plans for money deals under the Twitter umbrella. It could be a step towards an all-purpose app like WeChat in China, which Musk had hinted at as a possible future for Twitter. He also pointed out that so far there have been no changes in the handling of offensive content. It may take a few months before the committee announced by Musk on such content is formed. He will have a more advisory role, he stressed him.
Musk expresses understanding
At the same time, Musk has now shown he understands that some advertisers were holding back and wanted to see “how things develop.” At first he had threatened in a tweet to expose her publicly. After the acquisition, Tesla’s automakers and competitors such as Volkswagen, as well as other companies such as pharmaceutical company Pfizer and food giant Mondelez, temporarily refrained from advertising on Twitter. Following Musk’s announcement that he would establish greater freedom of speech on the service, there was great concern that even more questionable content might make it to the platform.
“Obviously, I don’t think it’s great to have hate speech along with a commercial,” Musk said. However, he believes the eight-dollar subscription will ultimately help in the fight against it. Ad revenue recently accounted for more than 90 percent of Twitter’s revenue, and according to Musk, advertisers’ reticence has led to a drop in sales.
