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Musk stops Twitter’s coveted blue tick as scammers go on a rampage.business and economic news
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Twitter Inc has suspended its recently announced service $8 bluetick subscription service On Friday fake accounts explodeand new owner Elon Musk have returned the “Official” badge to some users of the social media platform.
The coveted blue checkmark was previously reserved for verified accounts of politicians, celebrities, journalists and other public figures. To help with expansion, a subscription option was rolled out earlier this week that’s available to anyone ready to pay.
Flip-flops are part of two confusing weeks on Twitter Musk completes $44 billion acquisitionThe mask is Fired almost half of Twitter’s employeesdismissed the board and senior management, raised the possibility of Twitter’s bankruptcyThe US Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it was looking at Twitter with “deep concern”.
Several users reported on Friday that the new subscription option with the blue verification checkmark had disappeared, but sources told Reuters it had been discontinued.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Fake accounts impersonating major brands such as Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX, as well as Roblox, Nestle, pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Lockheed Martin have appeared with blue checks since the new rollout.
“We have added the ‘Official’ label to some accounts to combat impersonation,” Twitter’s support account tagged ‘Official’ tweeted on Friday.
The label was originally announced Wednesday, but was “killed” by Musk hours later.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co Issue Apology After a fake account tweeted that insulin would be free amid political backlash and scrutiny over high drug prices.
“We apologize to those who received misleading messages from a fake Lilly account,” the company said, repeating its Twitter handle.
Several misleading tweets about Tesla were also circulating on the platform from verified accounts with the same profile picture as the company’s official accounts.
“Twitter has been trying to improve it for the past few years. [misinformation]And Elon Musk seems to have figured it out in a matter of weeks,” said AJ Bauer, a professor at the University of Alabama.
Musk said Twitter users who impersonate without clearly indicating that they are “parody” accounts will be permanently suspended without warning. Several fake brand accounts have been suspended, including Nintendo and BP.
In his first company-wide email on Thursday, Musk said Twitter won’t be able to “ride out the upcoming recession” if it can’t increase subscription revenue to offset falling advertising revenue. three people who saw the message told Reuters.
“Who Buys Chaos?”
Many companies, including General Motors and United Airlines, have either suspended or withdrawn advertising on their platforms since Musk took over. Aimed to turn Twitter into a force of truth Suspend fake accounts.
Twitter relies heavily on advertising, with approximately 90% of its revenue coming from advertisers. But every time Musk rolls out or rolls back, the site becomes less attractive to big brands.
“It’s chaotic,” said Richard Levick, chief executive of public relations firm Levic. “Who Buys Chaos?”
A bigger problem for Musk, Levick added, might be the risk of damaging his reputation as an exemplary tech executive as various kinds of validation deployments and other changes go awry.
“This is another example of poor thinking and what happens when you’re in a hurry,” says Levick. “Musk is known as a trustworthy visionary and magician. He could not lose that moniker, and it is now in jeopardy.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/11/11/musk-halts-twitters-coveted-blue-tick-as-impostors-run-amok Musk stops Twitter’s coveted blue tick as scammers go on a rampage.business and economic news
