Elon Musk's plan to "purge" blue check marks on Twitter has turned out to be a confusing and uneven attempt at enforcing his vision for the platform. Instead of targeting high-profile users, as was initially expected, Musk has singled out one major publication - The New York Times - that has not opted for paid verification.
The surprise move came when Musk responded to a meme about the Times' decision not to pay for verification with a tweet saying, "Oh ok, we'll take it off then." This followed a series of attacks on the media outlet's coverage, which Musk claimed was boring and propaganda. The weekend has left many users wondering why their verification status has been altered, as Twitter's new label makes it unclear whether verified accounts are notable individuals or simply users who have paid to join Twitter Blue.
The move highlights how Musk often appears to guide decisions about the platform through whims rather than policy. The decision also risks creating confusion and whiplash for users, particularly high-profile accounts that have long been a key selling point for Twitter.
It's worth noting that not all legacy blue check holders lost their verification marks over the weekend; instead, they were appended with a new label reading: "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." This change has raised concerns about whether verified accounts are actually notable individuals or simply users who have paid for verification.
The move has sparked debate among experts in inauthentic behavior, who argue that reserving verification for paid users may not reduce the number of bots on the site. Additionally, some have pointed out that Musk's efforts to create a more equal system through changes to Twitter's verification process may ultimately drive revenue and benefit the billionaire owner.
In a separate move, Twitter replaced its blue bird logo with doge, the meme representing cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. The price of dogecoin shot up 20% on Monday, highlighting how Musk's platform continues to be influenced by his own interests and whims.
The surprise move came when Musk responded to a meme about the Times' decision not to pay for verification with a tweet saying, "Oh ok, we'll take it off then." This followed a series of attacks on the media outlet's coverage, which Musk claimed was boring and propaganda. The weekend has left many users wondering why their verification status has been altered, as Twitter's new label makes it unclear whether verified accounts are notable individuals or simply users who have paid to join Twitter Blue.
The move highlights how Musk often appears to guide decisions about the platform through whims rather than policy. The decision also risks creating confusion and whiplash for users, particularly high-profile accounts that have long been a key selling point for Twitter.
It's worth noting that not all legacy blue check holders lost their verification marks over the weekend; instead, they were appended with a new label reading: "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account." This change has raised concerns about whether verified accounts are actually notable individuals or simply users who have paid for verification.
The move has sparked debate among experts in inauthentic behavior, who argue that reserving verification for paid users may not reduce the number of bots on the site. Additionally, some have pointed out that Musk's efforts to create a more equal system through changes to Twitter's verification process may ultimately drive revenue and benefit the billionaire owner.
In a separate move, Twitter replaced its blue bird logo with doge, the meme representing cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. The price of dogecoin shot up 20% on Monday, highlighting how Musk's platform continues to be influenced by his own interests and whims.
my personal friend who works at ny times was low-key freaking out over the weekend when they realized their verification got removed lol and now all these ppl are wondering why they still have it like wut happened to the good ol' days??? 
i personally don't care either way bc i just wanna get my tweets read 
btw did u see how dogecoin went up 20% after musk tweeted about it?? 
, this whole thing is just a mess 
. I mean, who does Elon think he is? Singling out the New York Times like that 
is just weird. And now we're all stuck with this new label nonsense 
, making it hard to know what's going on with verified accounts. It's like he's trying to create chaos 
and I'm not sure that's gonna end well for Twitter.
. This whole thing is just too confusing, especially for users who rely on verified accounts for important info 
. And let's be real, the price of dogecoin shot up after he changed the logo... talk about a conflict of interest 
.
. And why did they single out The New York Times? Can't they just stick to one policy instead of being all wishy-washy about it? 
. The last thing we need is more confusion and whiplash on Twitter. Can't they just get it together? 