The decision is a huge one and we’re seeing notable names from the industry lose their ticks, one by one.
The change is very evident on accounts belonging to several leading journalists and you’ll also see how logos hinting at verification are also slowly but surely disappearing and then appearing again when the page on the app starts to reload.
Classically, the purpose of this new verification system from Twitter is to make sure all accounts belonging to famous people and companies that gave out a lot of content on the app for free were actually being provided by those same people in question. But now, Musk is asking for an $8 monthly payment if you want to get that same verification of Twitter Blue.
The tech billionaire has certainly been awfully vocal about the decision and how he did not like the verification system in place by the old administration. He’s been criticizing it since day one and has wanted a change for so long. Not only did he refer to it as corrupt but bullshit too and one that was seen during the lords' and peasants' age.
So many leading journalists on the app could receive verification through default means no matter how big or small their follower count was, which was actually a factor taking their readership into consideration. The news failed to sit right with Elon Musk and his not-so-great terms with the press and the world of media so the change was inevitable.
Hence, a lot of criticism came from Musk’s way when he did not meet the deadline set out for April 1 but he did vow to make it by April 20, staying true to his promise. The wind-down of the program has begun and a lot of famous names are really losing their blue ticks. There are clearly no technical glitches at this point in time.
The app set out the right system for blue ticks nearly ten years back after facing intense criticism and a legal case from celebs that were not happy with people impersonating them through the app. Today, we agree the system is far from perfect and the app really did have a lot of challenges in store in terms of getting verification. It’s a symbol that many saw a huge mark for advertising on the famous microblogging website. But it did make a huge number of dilemmas center stage regarding whether such profiles belonging to far-right account holders would be verified or not.
But while Musk thinks verification would help in solving the company’s problems, well, he’s sadly mistaken. Now that anyone and everyone can pay for it, we’re seeing misinformation pop up in so many news articles.
Even a tweet from the app’s own Daily News was incorrectly cited as evidence for its API changes in one of CNN’s latest reports. So yes, it was corrected but isn’t this a huge eye-opener for obvious reasons.
Read next: Microsoft Advertising Refuses To Support Twitter As Decision Prompts Elon Musk To Stage New Lawsuit
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World
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