This is not a joke. Until now it was a symbol of recognition on Twitter, reserved for personalities and organizations, but as of April 1 the famous blue mark should disappear from all profiles, except those who will pay to use it.
After a first attempt, which had given rise to a swarm of trolls and impostors who sometimes posed as Elon Musk himself, the kingpin of the social network intends to carry out this development, against all odds.
This blue notch, placed next to the name of the profile, has become, however, since its creation in 2009, one of the essential brands on Twitter, courted by the accounts that wanted to be certified, allowing the platform to become a forum. safe for stars, politicians, organizations and journalists.
A tide of fake accounts
But the billionaire and his army of fans see it instead as the mark of a two-tier system, separating what he portrays as Twitter’s “commoners” from a privileged elite.
One of his first decisions, after taking over the network last year, was to redesign Twitter Blue, the paid version of Twitter, by integrating certification, a reform that quickly turned into a fiasco.
In the hours that followed, fake but certified accounts posing as celebrities or big companies flourished, sometimes not without consequences: the title of the pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly sank like that because of an advertisement on one of those fake accounts.
Faced with a tidal wave of fake accounts himself, Elon Musk backed down, instituting a system of opt-in subscriber verification, but too late: Many major advertisers abandoned Twitter, cutting revenue for the network.
Since taking office, Elon Musk has significantly cut staff while restoring access to those whose accounts had been locked, sparking an explosion of hate speech and violence online, according to organizations that monitor social media. It remains to be seen how many users will pay to maintain their certification.
“Treat everyone fairly”
For a brand or celebrity, the risk, if they refuse to pay, is seeing an impostor do so to impersonate the official account, he stresses.
Those who pay through Twitter Blue will not be subject to the extensive verification required to qualify for free, according to a blog post from the group.
“C’est une manière de traiter tout le monde équitablement”, in response to last week Elon Musk’s tweet to a tweet by William Shatner, legend of Star Trek, who explained refuser de payer, “I don’t need to pay and avoir de traitement différent pour the celebrities”.
According to Travis Brown, a software developer who also specializes in social media monitoring, 13,200 accounts have so far chosen to pay to maintain their certification. “At this rate, it will be 5% on April 1,” he estimated Thursday.
Testing on Facebook
The question also arises for the media, which have the certification reserved for companies but will have to pay $1,500 a month to maintain it. A spokesman for the New York Times assured that the newspaper will not pay and will only pay on a case-by-case basis “when a verified status is essential for the job” for its journalists.
On the side of the Washington Post, we prefer to wait to see the consequences of the change while the AFP, in an internal email to its journalists, explained “studying the situation” and may “adapt if necessary.” .
As for organizations, the model makes people cringe, while the idea is being emulated: Facebook is currently testing it in Australia and New Zealand.
“Instead of reforming his platform to promote access to reliable information, Elon Musk is turning it into a two-level space, where only those who pay have a voice, whether or not they produce information of general interest,” criticized the Secretary General of Reporters . Without Borders (RSF), Christophe Deloire, interviewed by AFP.
Asked by AFP, the Twitter press service only returned the automatic response provided by email, an emoji in the shape of a pile of excrement.
Source: BFM TV
