Elon Musk's Twitter Purge: A Mixed Bag of Confusion and Whimsy
As promised, Twitter has started winding down its blue checks granted under the old verification system. Instead, it chose to target a single high-profile account from a major publication that Elon Musk dislikes. The platform has also introduced a new label, which makes it unclear whether verified accounts are notable individuals or simply users who have paid for Twitter Blue.
The decision came as part of Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks, which was launched shortly after he bought Twitter last fall. However, the move has been met with criticism and confusion from many high-profile users who were expecting their verification marks to disappear.
One notable exception is the main account for The New York Times, which had previously told CNN it would not pay for verification. After a tweet from Elon Musk joked about removing its blue check, the Times' account was indeed stripped of its mark.
The change has been met with skepticism by experts in inauthentic behavior, who argue that reserving verification for paid users may not reduce the number of bots on the site. Instead, it could risk making it easier for people to scam or impersonate high-profile users.
Musk has defended his decision, stating that it's about "treating everyone equally." However, critics argue that this approach ignores the value of legacy blue checks and creates confusion among users.
The move is also seen as a way to drive revenue through Twitter Blue, which costs $8 per month. Musk has stated that individual users will eventually have to pay for blue checks, although it's unclear when exactly this will happen.
In other news, Twitter's blue bird logo was replaced with doge, the meme representing the cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. This move has sent the price of dogecoin soaring 20%.
As Twitter continues to evolve under Musk's leadership, one thing is clear: users can expect more confusion and whimsy in the days ahead.
As promised, Twitter has started winding down its blue checks granted under the old verification system. Instead, it chose to target a single high-profile account from a major publication that Elon Musk dislikes. The platform has also introduced a new label, which makes it unclear whether verified accounts are notable individuals or simply users who have paid for Twitter Blue.
The decision came as part of Musk's long campaign against "legacy" blue checks, which was launched shortly after he bought Twitter last fall. However, the move has been met with criticism and confusion from many high-profile users who were expecting their verification marks to disappear.
One notable exception is the main account for The New York Times, which had previously told CNN it would not pay for verification. After a tweet from Elon Musk joked about removing its blue check, the Times' account was indeed stripped of its mark.
The change has been met with skepticism by experts in inauthentic behavior, who argue that reserving verification for paid users may not reduce the number of bots on the site. Instead, it could risk making it easier for people to scam or impersonate high-profile users.
Musk has defended his decision, stating that it's about "treating everyone equally." However, critics argue that this approach ignores the value of legacy blue checks and creates confusion among users.
The move is also seen as a way to drive revenue through Twitter Blue, which costs $8 per month. Musk has stated that individual users will eventually have to pay for blue checks, although it's unclear when exactly this will happen.
In other news, Twitter's blue bird logo was replaced with doge, the meme representing the cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. This move has sent the price of dogecoin soaring 20%.
As Twitter continues to evolve under Musk's leadership, one thing is clear: users can expect more confusion and whimsy in the days ahead.
. Like, what's next? Are we gonna get doge-branded everything on the platform now?! 
The idea of paying for blue checks just feels like a money grab to me, and I don't think it's gonna do much to weed out bots or scammers. It's already hard enough to spot legit accounts when everyone's got a similar verification label 
. And can we talk about how this whole thing is just another example of Musk being...Musk? 
Either way, I'm more concerned about the impact on users than the price of dogecoin (which, btw, is still kinda ridiculous that it's skyrocketing just because of a meme 
).
? it's like musk just threw a wrench into the works 
. i mean, i get it, he wants to make money 
is just confusing 
. and what's up with the new label 
is straight fire 
, but i guess that's not really a surprise since musk loves doge 
i feel like they're just messing with us. like, who needs to pay $8/month for a blue check? it's not worth it tbh. i'm actually kinda sad to see the legacy checks go, it felt like a badge of honor or something. but at the same time, if people want to shell out that cash then more power to them 
I'm kinda loving the new vibe tho, like, who needs a blue check mark anyway? It's just a status symbol right? 
. And now they're trying to sell it back to us for $8 a month? Like no thanks, I'll stick with the free version, lol 
It's all so... messy.
. It's just gonna make it easier for them to pretend to be famous people or whatever, and trust me, that's not a good thing 
.
That thing's been on fire lately! $8 a month for Twitter Blue? No thanks, I'm good 
. but seriously, it's all about driving revenue now i guess 
. First, the blue checks disappear and now they're reserving them for paid users? It's all so confusing 
. The idea that Musk thinks paying $8/month will 'treat everyone equally' is just laughable 
. And another thing, what's up with the doge logo?! 
. I mean, who needs to pay for a blue check anyway? It's not like it's gonna stop bots from spreading fake info 
. And now they're just gonna use doge as their logo? That's just plain weird 
. At least The New York Times got to keep its blue check, that's something 
. But overall, this whole thing just feels like a mess 
. Can't they just stick with what worked before? 
. But at the same time, I get why Elon wants to create some buzz around Twitter Blue - it's like he's trying to drive up engagement and whatnot.
.
so the ny times account is still good tho, nice save 
and dogecoin's price is through the roof lol what a wild ride this twitter thing is 
And hey, at least Twitter Blue's got a cute new logo, right? 
. But on the other hand, have you considered the potential consequences? For instance, what about high-profile users who rely on their blue checks for, say, fact-checking purposes? It feels like this new system is more geared towards profiting off Twitter Blue than actually reducing inauthentic behavior 
It seems like a lot of effort is being put into driving revenue through Twitter Blue, but how much of that actually benefits the users?