Twitter has suspended its new blue tick verification system after the social media platform was inundated with a wave of imposter accounts.
This Premium “Twitter Blue” Anyone can use the service for £6.99 a month in the UK ($8 a month in the US) – accounts that have previously been used to verify public figures, including celebrities and journalists, have been vetted and confirmed to be genuine .
But the improved model has proven it Lots of fake accounts – A parody claiming to be Jesus Christ is verified.
The people behind the anonymous satirical account started it 14 years ago in 2006.
“Even though I’ve had it for so long, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get verified,” he told Business Insider.
“I applied for verification before and got rejected, but when Elon Musk changed the verification rules and you could subscribe to Twitter Blue and buy a verified check, I knew it was finally my time. It was instant. I bought I subscribed to Twitter Blue, and when I finished confirming Apple Pay and reopened Twitter, I was verified.”
Another fake account claimed insulin was free, forcing an apology from U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly.
just two weeks later Pay $44 billion to take control of Twitter October, new owner Elon Musk Accounts for his companies Tesla and SpaceX were impersonated.
The world’s richest man also appears to have two verified accounts, one of which operates under the name @JoshMalina, announced Wednesday: “Good night. Twitter cleanup starts now”.
Suspension comes hours after billionaire entrepreneur’s warning Twitter could face bankruptcyHave laid off half the workforce.
His new vision has prompted prominent users, including Stephen Fry, to deactivate their accounts – as advertisers have also expressed concerns about the platform’s viability.
“There are so many corrupt legacy blue ‘validation’ checkmarks out there that there is no choice but to remove the legacy blue in the next few months,” Musk tweeted on Thursday.
However, he also claimed that Twitter hit an “all-time high in active users” on Friday, adding: “Twitter usage continues to rise.
“One thing’s for sure: it’s not boring!”
There are now two categories of “blue checks” – but they look the same.
Elon Musk has completed his $44bn (£38bn) takeover of Twitter
One included accounts that were verified before Musk took over, stating: “This account is if verified because it is prominent in government, news, entertainment, or other designated categories.”
Another confirmed that the account is subscribed to Twitter Blue.
Twitter Blue isn’t available on the online version of the platform, it says registration can only be done on the iPhone version. However, the iPhone version doesn’t offer Twitter Blue as an option.
The platform does not appear to have decided whether to add an “official” label to some high-profile accounts, pushing them out before removing them a few hours ago.
Musk and Twitter’s own accounts, as well as global brands including Amazon, Nike and Coca-Cola, have no “official” status.