Now that users can no longer pay for verification status on Twitter, people are trolling the company’s new CEO, Elon Musk.
The social media platform launched its Twitter Blue subscription earlier this week through the iPhone app, allowing people to use the service to purchase the checkmark that previously was used to show an account was verified or official. On Friday (Nov. 11), the organization paused the new feature. Many believe that quick suspension was a result of a failed attempt by Musk to generate revenue from anyone using the platform.
Others speculate that the influx of parody accounts, which caused an uptick in the spread of misinformation, may have also been the reason for a sudden halt of the new subscription service. In fact, on Wednesday (Nov. 9), someone went as far as impersonating LeBron James to fake a request to leave his current NBA team. “I am officially requesting a trade,” read the tweet. “Thank you #LakersNation for all the support throughout the years. On to bigger and better things.”
In addition to the fake James profile, similar fraud accounts popped up prompting Musk to threaten to suspend all versions impersonating individuals without making it clear that they were parodies. NBC News reporter Ben Collins questioned the Tesla CEO’s approach to managing the situation at hand. “They’re banking on the fact that their moderation team will catch up to every single account impersonating someone – even if that person is impersonating a no-name government official,” he shared. “This is going to be a nightmare that’ll be very funny before it’s scary.”
Check out the post below.
With Twitter Blue on a current hiatus, many users have taken to the service to troll Musk’s leadership of the platform. “It was silly of them to even allow that anyway,” wrote one person. “Smh anything for some coins.” Another said, “I mean we all saw it coming.”
See more reactions to the news below.