Elon Musk's Twitter Purge Misfires, Targeting Iconic Account Instead of High-Profile Users
In a surprise move, Elon Musk's plan to purge blue check marks from verified accounts on Twitter failed to deliver as expected. The billionaire CEO had announced that users would have to pay $8 per month for the platform's Twitter Blue subscription service to stay verified, but instead, he singled out one high-profile account - the New York Times main account - which had previously opted not to pay for verification.
The plan was supposed to rid the platform of legacy blue check marks and reserve them only for users who paid for the premium subscription. However, the implementation seemed to be bungled from the start. Most legacy blue check holders found that their verification marks were still intact but had been appended with a new label reading: "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." This change makes it unclear whether verified accounts are notable individuals or simply users who have paid for the service.
The New York Times main account lost its blue check over the weekend after Musk responded to an account that often engages with him on social media by tweeting, "Oh ok, we'll take it off then." The move was seen as a petty attack by many, including the newspaper's publisher, who has been vocal about Musk's views on the media.
Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks has raised concerns among experts that the new system could make it easier for scammers to impersonate high-profile users. Additionally, it's unclear whether reserving verification for paid users will actually reduce the number of bots on the site.
The blunder highlights how Musk often seems to guide decisions about Twitter by whims rather than policy. The platform has struggled with issues of inauthentic behavior and misinformation under his leadership, which is a concern for many users and advertisers.
The move also marks another puzzling development in Musk's quest to monetize Twitter through paid features. The price of dogecoin, the meme representing the cryptocurrency that Musk promotes, shot up 20% on Monday after he replaced Twitter's blue bird logo with it at the top of the site.
As CNN reported earlier this week, Musk has presented changes to Twitter's verification system as a way of "treating everyone equally." However, critics argue that reserving blue checks for paid users creates a new standard that favors those who can afford to pay.
In a surprise move, Elon Musk's plan to purge blue check marks from verified accounts on Twitter failed to deliver as expected. The billionaire CEO had announced that users would have to pay $8 per month for the platform's Twitter Blue subscription service to stay verified, but instead, he singled out one high-profile account - the New York Times main account - which had previously opted not to pay for verification.
The plan was supposed to rid the platform of legacy blue check marks and reserve them only for users who paid for the premium subscription. However, the implementation seemed to be bungled from the start. Most legacy blue check holders found that their verification marks were still intact but had been appended with a new label reading: "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." This change makes it unclear whether verified accounts are notable individuals or simply users who have paid for the service.
The New York Times main account lost its blue check over the weekend after Musk responded to an account that often engages with him on social media by tweeting, "Oh ok, we'll take it off then." The move was seen as a petty attack by many, including the newspaper's publisher, who has been vocal about Musk's views on the media.
Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks has raised concerns among experts that the new system could make it easier for scammers to impersonate high-profile users. Additionally, it's unclear whether reserving verification for paid users will actually reduce the number of bots on the site.
The blunder highlights how Musk often seems to guide decisions about Twitter by whims rather than policy. The platform has struggled with issues of inauthentic behavior and misinformation under his leadership, which is a concern for many users and advertisers.
The move also marks another puzzling development in Musk's quest to monetize Twitter through paid features. The price of dogecoin, the meme representing the cryptocurrency that Musk promotes, shot up 20% on Monday after he replaced Twitter's blue bird logo with it at the top of the site.
As CNN reported earlier this week, Musk has presented changes to Twitter's verification system as a way of "treating everyone equally." However, critics argue that reserving blue checks for paid users creates a new standard that favors those who can afford to pay.
Elon Musk thinks he's so smart with his "treat everyone equally" speech, but really it just sounds like a bunch of BS 
. I mean, come on, targeting the New York Times main account was a total low blow 
. And now most legacy blue check holders have this weird label appended to their verification mark? 
It's just so amateurish.
. Musk thinks he's solving problems, but really he's just creating new ones 
. And what's with the price of dogecoin skyrocketing after he replaced Twitter's logo? 
Like, who cares about that? It's just another example of Musk trying to make a quick buck 
. This Twitter purge thing was just a huge mess from the start 
. I mean, targeting the NY Times main account? Petty move, fam 
.
. This whole thing is just a big mess, and I don't think anyone's happy with it 
.
They said they were gonna make it equal but now it's just a big ol' cash grab 
Why did the NYT main account have to be the one that got "punished"? 
. One minute Elon Musk is trying to clean up the platform by charging $8 a month for blue check marks, and the next he's gone and slapped a new label on some random high-profile account 
. It just doesn't add up, you know? And now that New York Times main account lost its blue check, I'm just thinking about how this is exactly what happened back in the day when AOL was trying to compete with CompuServe 
. They both ended up getting into some weird verification shenanigans... anyway, it's just a mess right now 
. It feels like he just wanted to stir up trouble rather than making a thoughtful change 
. And let's not forget the price of dogecoin went up 20% after Musk made those changes 
... does that really have anything to do with the verification system? 
so they're keepin their blue tick but with a weird label tho 
& omg has Elon lost his mind? 
first its dogecoin & now this lol 
and we cant even tell if a verified account is notable or not 
and what really got me was the new york times getting their blue check taken off for being petty with musk 
. He's just trying to make money off of people who want to stay verified on the platform. But it's not going to solve any problems with bots or scammers 
. like wut r u even thinking elon? u try to purge legacy blue checks but instead u end up confusing everyone and making scammers happy 
. anyw, at least dogecoin is rising in value lol