Twitter Purge: Musk's Plan Backfires as Blue Check Marks Remain, But New York Times Account Loses Verification Overnight.
Elon Musk's plan to purge blue check marks from verified Twitter accounts has hit a snag. Despite announcing the change in April, which would have required users to pay $8 per month for verification under his new Twitter Blue subscription service, many legacy blue check holders still had their verification marks intact this weekend.
What happened instead was that Twitter targeted one account, belonging to a major publication Musk dislikes, and changed the language on its site, obscuring why users are verified. The New York Times' main account lost its coveted blue check mark, leaving many wondering if they would have to pay for the service just to keep their verification.
Musk had previously stated that Twitter's old verification system was flawed, as it prioritized protecting high-profile users at risk of impersonation. However, experts and users alike have argued that Musk's new plan could make it easier for scammers to impersonate verified accounts.
The confusion surrounding the change has raised concerns about Musk's willingness to guide decisions through whims rather than policy. Twitter laid off most of its public relations staff last fall, leaving many questions unanswered.
On Monday, the blue bird logo at the top of the site was replaced with doge, a meme representing the cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. The price of dogecoin shot up 20% on Monday.
The plan to charge users for verification is part of Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks. Twitter launched this option in early November but put it on pause due to issues with impersonators. In December, the program was relaunched under a new color-coded system that includes differently colored marks for companies and government entities.
The decision has sparked debate about whether Musk's plan will actually reduce the number of bots on the site or drive revenue through paid verification. Musk claims his approach is meant to "treat everyone equally," but critics argue it creates a different standard for celebrities, who are not required to pay for verification.
Elon Musk's plan to purge blue check marks from verified Twitter accounts has hit a snag. Despite announcing the change in April, which would have required users to pay $8 per month for verification under his new Twitter Blue subscription service, many legacy blue check holders still had their verification marks intact this weekend.
What happened instead was that Twitter targeted one account, belonging to a major publication Musk dislikes, and changed the language on its site, obscuring why users are verified. The New York Times' main account lost its coveted blue check mark, leaving many wondering if they would have to pay for the service just to keep their verification.
Musk had previously stated that Twitter's old verification system was flawed, as it prioritized protecting high-profile users at risk of impersonation. However, experts and users alike have argued that Musk's new plan could make it easier for scammers to impersonate verified accounts.
The confusion surrounding the change has raised concerns about Musk's willingness to guide decisions through whims rather than policy. Twitter laid off most of its public relations staff last fall, leaving many questions unanswered.
On Monday, the blue bird logo at the top of the site was replaced with doge, a meme representing the cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. The price of dogecoin shot up 20% on Monday.
The plan to charge users for verification is part of Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks. Twitter launched this option in early November but put it on pause due to issues with impersonators. In December, the program was relaunched under a new color-coded system that includes differently colored marks for companies and government entities.
The decision has sparked debate about whether Musk's plan will actually reduce the number of bots on the site or drive revenue through paid verification. Musk claims his approach is meant to "treat everyone equally," but critics argue it creates a different standard for celebrities, who are not required to pay for verification.
... musk's plan was supposed 2 reduce bots & scammers but now ppl r worried he's just gonna create a whole new mess 
i mean, whos got time 2 figure out why thier accounts got taken away? 
and btw, who decided to put doge on the site tho 
I'm so frustrated right now! Like, what's going on with this Twitter purge?! 
Elon Musk thinks he can just waltz in and change everything without thinking about the consequences? 
The fact that they messed up The New York Times account is just a joke. That's like removing the blue check mark from a news organization that actually reports the truth. 
Celebrities get to keep their blue checks no matter what, but normal people have to shell out $8 a month just to be verified? Give me a break! 
They just changed the language on their site and now users are left wondering what's going on. No PR staff? That's a recipe for disaster! 
. Twitter's just adding to the drama, it feels like Musk is just winging it 
and not really thinking about how this would affect users.
. The thing is, if you're gonna charge for blue checks, it should be more than just a 'we feel like it' kind of deal 
. I think this whole thing is just a mess, but at the same time, I can see why people might think Musk's plan could actually reduce bots or drive revenue 
. It's a weird paradox, right?
. It's like he's trying to make things up as he goes along and expects everyone else to be cool with it 
. Not buying it 
And what about the PR staff Twitter laid off last year... now they're all scrambling because of Musk's weird decisions 
. I think Twitter needs some serious guidance, not just a CEO making things up as he goes along 
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