How much are you willing to pay for a Twitter verification badge?
Elon Musk's Twitter takeover is one thing, but the type of business he plans to impose upon users of the platform is another story. People and organisations bearing that little blue checkmark on their accounts will have to pay at least eight bucks a month to keep themselves "verified"—a controversial policy change frowned upon by netizens.
Twitter Inc. seeks to start selling the blue badge for user profiles as soon as November 9, 2022, following Elon Musk's "mission" to ward off fake accounts and squeeze revenue from the company he acquired for USD44 billion.
"Twitter's current lords and peasants system for who has or does not have a blue checkmark is [redacted]. Power to the people! Blue for USD8 a month," the Tesla CEO said in a Tweet.
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Critics of Musk's most recent move say that the verification fee may only fuel worries that government figures, celebrities, journalists, brands, and whatnot can be impersonated by scammers or fake news propagators willing to pay a monthly fee. This would, in turn, negate the very purpose of the businessman's new rule.
“So most of the good useful people on here who are verified will reject this, and all the very worst people will pay for it, making it even harder to identify reliable information and returning us to the days of rampant impersonator accounts. This is going great," Rob Sheridan who is best known for his work with the American rock band Nine Inch Nails.
Renowned horror author Stephen King also shared his frustrations in a Tweet. "They should pay me. USD20 a month to keep my blue check? If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron."
Franchesca Ramsey, comedian and TV writer, for her part, said she has verified status “solely because I’ve dealt with folks impersonating me for the purpose of trolling or harassment”.
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