Twitter will release a new verification token to replace the verified token they already used, but can no longer use to verify relevant personalities as it will now be used to identify Twitter Blue subscribers who will pay $8 to get verified. Sound like a tongue twister? Yes, you are not the only one. It is thanks to the chaos that the social network is going through after the purchase by Elon Musk.
So while you can now pay $8 to have your verified next to your name, Twitter will now put another verification symbol for official accounts, including government accounts, companies, businesses, media outlets, and some public figures. To add even more confusion to the situation, if you were previously verified, you will not necessarily receive this new official verification symbol.
The changes were posted by Esther Crawford. The new verified symbol, which literally verifies the verified, appears just below the name indicating that it is an official account. Come on, there is a human verification guaranteeing that you are not interacting with a fake account.
Does that sound absolutely ridiculous to you? Trust me, it’s not just you. Twitter has literally introduced a new verification system that does exactly the same thing that the blue verification stamp did before Elon Musk killed it.
When he decided that anyone could get the blue verification token for $8 a month, he argued that it was a system that spawned two classes: warlords and peasants, and that it gave power to everyone, in exchange for the monthly subscription.
The chaos of verifying Twitter accounts in the was Musk
Twitter’s account verification stamp lost its meaning when Elon Musk announced that anyone can have it after paying $8. If everyone can be verified, then no one is really verified.
The pre-Musk verification system was a manual process that ensured the account you’re interacting with isn’t fake or a spoofed identity. It not only works well for services such as banks, famous people or companies, but also for politicians, journalists and communicators. By seeing the blue seal, you know that the information is coming from a real source.
But now anyone can get the verified symbol, spread fake news, even impersonate someone else. It’s something that Elon Musk experienced over the weekend, and it infuriated him enough that he started blocking verified accounts that were changing their name to impersonate him, even if it was a joke and a mockery.
An ironic move, considering that after the purchase of Twitter, Musk himself said that comedy is now “legal on Twitter.” It is also noteworthy that this decision to moderate content was made deliberately by Musk, even though days before he had announced that no major changes would be made in this regard until the formation of a council made up of people with different points of view.
For now, Twitter delayed the launch of the new payment plan of 8 dollars that grants the verified symbol until after the midterm elections in the United States. They fear that it will be abused and used to spread fake news. Maybe they should listen to themselves and understand that verifying anyone for $8 a month is a terrible idea.