Beware of Fake ‘Verified’ Accounts: New Twitter Blue Update Leads to Influx of Impersonations, Issues
Twitter Blue #TwitterBlue
The new Twitter Blue update is in effect, and it’s already causing confusion on the social media platform.
Under the new system, users can pay $8 a month for a subscription that comes with the coveted blue check mark, which previously indicated a user was “verified” as authentic.
The update was implemented Thursday, two weeks after it was announced that Elon Musk had purchased Twitter in a deal worth $44 billion.
However, some users are now utilizing the blue check mark to impersonate previously-verified users on Twitter. The users will purchase Twitter Blue, if need be, and change their username to the name of the person or entity they are attempting to imitate.
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Per multiple reports, several celebrities, public figures and businesses are now being impersonated via the new Twitter Blue system including athletes LeBron James and O.J. Simpson, conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, and others.
A now-suspended account impersonating former President George W. Bush posted a tweet on Thursday that said, “I miss killing Iraqis,” according to Insider and Sky News.
An account impersonating former British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly replied with “Same tbh.” (The Blair account also appears to have been suspended.)
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President Joe Biden has also been subject to impersonation on Twitter. One account, which has since been suspended, reportedly posted at least one tweet suggesting the Commander in Chief was engaging in a sexual act.
Companies like American Girl and Nintendo of America were also being impersonated by users who then share vulgar content. A fake Nintendo of America account posted a photo of Mario from Super Mario Bros. holding up the middle finger, while a fake American Girl account posted comments about slaves. (Both have been suspended.)
Representatives for Twitter did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Author James Felton pointed out these issues in response to a poll posted by Musk early Thursday morning, which asked Twitter users to weigh in on whether or not they had seen “far fewer” bots, scam accounts and spam (50.9 percent of respondents answered “yes”).
But Musk seemingly brushed off the critique, responding with a pair of sideways laughing emojis.
Musk is no stranger to impersonation on the app, having been imitated by various verified accounts — including actress Valerie Bertinelli and comedian Kathy Griffin — prior to the Twitter Blue change. The billionaire vowed to suspend all accounts that “engage in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ ” in their handle.
Verification isn’t the only issue some users have with the new Twitter Blue system. Currently, verified Twitter accounts are unable to change their username as the changes to Twitter Blue take place.
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The move has already become a problem for Doja Cat, who realized early Thursday that she was unable to change her username, which she had temporarily changed to “christmas” following Halloween.
“Why can’t i change my name on here,” the 27-year-old singer wrote in one tweet. A few minutes later, she tweeted, “I don’t wanna be christmas forever @elonmusk please help i’ve made a mistake.”
About an hour later, Musk responded to one of Doja Cat’s tweets to tell her the problem had been fixed.
The new Twitter Blue update was rolled out less than a week after Musk conducted a mass layoff at Twitter, with reports suggesting he planned to fire around half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees to save the company money. Hours later, the company attempted to bring back some of the employees they fired, according to The Verge.
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Now, employees have been informed that “remote work is no longer allowed” minus those with “specific” exceptions, and that employees must be in the office for at least 40 hours a week, according to Bloomberg and The Guardian.
Last weekend, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted an apology to the laid-off workers, writing, “I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly.”
Twitter Blue reportedly isn’t the only money-making idea Musk is considering implementing on the social media platform. A source told The Verge that the Tesla CEO and one of his advisers, venture capitalist David Sacks, have discussed the idea of a platform-wide paywall in recent meetings.
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