The coveted verification tokens, which Twitter is breaking new ground by giving subscribers, were immediately misused for misleading messages. On Wednesday, it was announced through the alleged account of basketball player LeBron James that he wanted to leave the Los Angeles Lakers.
It was easy to believe the account was real: next to the athlete’s name was the familiar white checkmark on a blue background, and the account name also looked confusingly similar: “@KINGJamez” instead of the real “@KingJames”. The account was blocked – but only after it had already gained wider attention. Fake accounts were also created for other celebrities and companies.
Blue check mark without verification
The verification check was previously reserved for celebrities, politicians, organizations and companies whose identities were verified by Twitter. Under the new system, anyone who subscribes for $8 a month will get it. There is no more exam. Twitter boss Elon Musk says he assumes that authentication by payment services and app platforms and the risk of losing the account and the money paid in case of violations offer sufficient protection against abuse.
Sometimes an additional gray check was planned for previous owners of verified accounts. Musk only stopped the introduction on Wednesday after the first profiles had already been checked.
The tech billionaire announced the reorganization of account verification as one of the first steps after Twitter’s approximately $44 billion acquisition. He announced that existing verified account holders who don’t want to pay eight dollars a month would lose their tick within a few months.
(SDA)