The sale of Twitter ticks shouldn’t be resuming anytime soon. Twitter boss Elon Musk only wants to ensure that the coveted verification checkmark is re-acquired when accounts are “highly likely” to prevent fraudulent accounts. In addition, Musk announced in a tweet on Tuesday night that the Twitter profiles of organizations and individuals will likely have different colored ticks in the future. He did not give further details.
Musk bought Twitter for about $44 billion at the end of October. Then on November 9, the functionality to buy ticks by subscription was quickly re-suspended after frequent fake celebrity and brand accounts surfaced. Musk later said he would re-release them by the end of last week, which hasn’t happened. It then reported that the subscription should be available again on November 29. Whether this timing is realistic remains to be seen.
Mark for $8 per month
After years of scrutiny by Twitter, companies and organizations, as well as politicians and other celebrities, have been ticked. According to the new model, anyone paying eight dollars a month should get the tick. No identity check. Because the ticks look exactly the same, it’s only after you click on the symbol that it’s clear whether you’re dealing with a truly verified account or a new, purchased tick.
Some users created credible fake accounts with the ticks they bought – for example, basketball star LeBron James (37), gaming company Nintendo and former US President Donald Trump (76). Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly had to apologize after a fake account prompted Twitter users to believe that insulin would be distributed free of charge in the future. An allegedly verified fake account of fruit trader Chiquita announced that he had overthrown the Brazilian government. A few days later, Twitter finally shut down the function again.
Trump may return to Twitter
The real Donald Trump has also been allowed back on Twitter since last weekend. Former US President shared on his profile @realdonaldtrump but nothing so far.
The decision came after a user survey conducted by Musk with 15 million respondents. 51.8% voted to reinstate Trump’s Twitter account.
Trump blocked the internet platform on January 8, 2021, after expressing sympathy for his supporters who stormed the Capitol in Washington two days earlier.
Not Alex Jones
Kanye West (45), who was blocked for his anti-Semitic posts, was also allowed to wreak havoc on Twitter again. But conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (48) is not. Jones was fined hundreds of millions of dollars for lying about the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in the United States.
Musk justified it this way: “My first child died in my arms. I felt the last heartbeat. I have no pity for anyone who uses the deaths of children for profit, politics, or fame.”
Since being taken over by Musk, Twitter has struggled, among other things, with the reluctance of its large advertising customers. Recently, advertising revenues accounted for about 90 percent of company revenues. (SDA/kae)