Just a few days into the launch of the revamped Twitter Blue system that allowed anyone with $8 to be verified, the platform has paused paid verification due to imposter accounts springing up on the platform — as almost everyone that has used Twitter predicted would happen.
The Verge reports that Twitter users are reporting that the option to enroll in Twitter Blue, the social network’s new $78 subscription service, has vanished from the platform’s iOS app just days after its launch. According to Zoe Schiffer of Platformer, the company has put a halt on the release of Twitter Blue.
Some Twitter Blue fans this morning pointed out that the link had been removed from the sidebar of the Twitter app for iOS, a fact confirmed by Breitbart Tech. For those who still have the link, signing up brings up an error message. It reads, “Thank you for your interest! Twitter Blue will be available in your country in the future. Please check back later.” Some Android users on the Twitter alpha and beta versions have said they can see the option to subscribe.
Some users even reported that they lost the checkmarks they had paid for:
Ohhh, that explains why my blue checkmark disappeared (I just subscribed today )https://t.co/d2IiSDay7H
— Carter (@CarterKoWang) November 11, 2022
Unsurprisingly, after the launch of the new verification system people began to purchase verification in order to imitate important brands and celebrities. This was an issue that many had predicted well ahead of time.
Some of the impersonations can be seen below:
the new Twitter verification system is going well pic.twitter.com/7eH2H7o24W
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) November 9, 2022
A fake account is impersonating the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company: "We are excited to announce insulin is free now." pic.twitter.com/OldmyzIqIp
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 10, 2022
Author James Felton pointed out to Musk that fake accounts were running wild on the platform following the launch of the Twitter Blue verification, but Musk didn’t seem particularly worried.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2022
Now Zoe Schiffer of Platformer is reporting that Twitter has suspended the launch of Twitter Blue entirely and is attempting to stop people from subscribing “to help address impersonation issues,” according to an internal message.
The announcement was posted on Slack: "An update on what we did tonight: hid the entry point to Twitter Blue, added the 'official' label for ONLY advertisers. Note: here is at least one way for users to sign up for Blue. Legacy Blue users can go to subscriptions and upgrade" 2/
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 11, 2022
Breitbart News recently reported that Musk recently dumped the newly introduced “official” grey checkmark just hours after rolling out the feature. Hours after Twitter launched the label designed to verify the authenticity of a user’s account (which is supposedly what the original Twitter verified checkmarks were designed for), Musk announced he was shutting down the project.
We’re not currently putting an “Official” label on accounts but we are aggressively going after impersonation and deception.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 9, 2022
Now it seems that the grey official checkmark may be returning, but that seems to change on an almost daily basis seemingly depending on how Musk is feeling about the idea:
To combat impersonation, we’ve added an “Official” label to some accounts.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 11, 2022
Tesla’s stock price has sunk to an almost two-year low of $177.59 amidst Musk’s recent sale of $4 billion worth of the automaker’s stock and the ongoing Twitter drama.
Read more at the Verge here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
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