Elon Musk’s announcement about enacting a new fee for verified Twitter accounts was criticized by blue-check media personalities.
Musk has already caused a lot of controversy since purchasing Twitter, and his intention to target accounts that have the recognizable blue checkmark was unveiled on Tuesday.
“Bulls—- is Twitter’s current “lords & peasants” system for determining who has or does not have a blue checkmark. People power, indeed! Blue at $8 per month, “Trump started a thread. “Prices are based on purchasing power parity and are country-specific. Additionally, you will receive: – Priority in answers, mentions, and searches, which is necessary to combat spam and scam. – The ability to upload lengthy videos and music – Half as many adverts. those publications willing to cooperate with us, paywall bypass.”
And he said, “As a result, Twitter will have a source of income to pay content producers. A secondary tag will appear beneath the name of anyone who is a public figure, as is presently the case for politicians.”
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.
Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
It’s populism with a dash of capitalism mixed in, though! Molly Jong-Fast, the host of the podcast, reacted.
Stephen Holder, an ESPN reporter, tweeted, “Nothing about this makes sense. Not building a tiered system is the point; the point is verification. I mean, I’m not rich, but I’m also not that stupid.”
According to CNN opinion columnist Jeff Yang, “blue checkmark as the status indicator is something users on the platform devised.” Verification was never meant to be an indicator of social standing, but rather a certified ID for users with public person status, such as authors, media figures, etc. so that others can’t catfish as them.
Blue checkmark as status indicator is something invented by users on the platform
Verification was never intended as a sign of social status, but of certified ID for users with public person status as creators, media figures etc so that other people can’t catfish as them https://t.co/pgEhRAlK5H
— Jeff Yang 🫶 (@originalspin) November 1, 2022
“I’ll tell you what I’d value: an ID at registration. Bots are forbidden from entering, and trolls are punished. That’s now worth something “James Mitchinson, editor of The Yorkshire Post, told Musk.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a commentator for MSNBC, screamed, “The populist” Musk. the promotion of authoritarianism, anti-elitism, and anti-intellectualism. Take those blue checkers to the task!”
“There is little question that the perception of verification as a status symbol has corrupted it, thus identity confirmation should be the emphasis of the course correction. It is utterly dishonest to portray this prospective income grab as democratizing “Evan Blass, a blogger stated.
Some others were trying to avoid the $8 monthly price while keeping their blue checkmark.
“My blue check was just screenshotted, and I made it my banner. That was simple. and liberated, “Asha Rangappa, a liberal TV commentator, tweeted.
I just screenshot my blue check and made it my banner. That was easy. And free 😂
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) November 1, 2022
“I’m just taking a screenshot of my verification as it is right now and pinning it to a tweet. To keep it, I might have paid $1. I won’t be spending $8 a month to advertise my credibility to a billionaire, “Laurel Pfahler, a journalist, wrote.
Following a protracted legal dispute with the digital behemoth following his initial $44 billion purchase, Musk finally acquired Twitter last week.
His first move was to fire the senior executives at Twitter, including the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal, and its chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde. Later, he removed the board of directors from Twitter, leaving him as the only director of the business.
While his liberal detractors accuse him of allowing hate speech and so-called “misinformation” to run rampant on the platform out of concern that he will reinstate banned accounts like former President Trump, Musk’s takeover of Twitter has won over many conservatives as the Tesla billionaire has promoted free speech principles.
