If you haven't heard, one way or another, Elon Musk bought Twitter and has already started announcing and enacting major changes to how the social media site works. One of the most controversial is that Twitter verification will change from a free to a paid feature, but the change could be even worse than we initially thought: getting the blue tick may no longer require actual verification.
In his description of why Musk's changes will destroy Twitter, our US editor Lance Ulanoff pointed out some issues around having to pay for the blue tick.
First, unlike Netflix, HBO Max, and other major streaming services, Twitter doesn't create its own content, but relies on its users to provide it. And unlike YouTube, there's no built-in way for creators to make money from Twitter. In effect, the change would require Twitter's most valuable assets—its top creators—to pay for the privilege of improving Twitter without receiving anything in return.
Second, while $8/mo (about $7/AU$12.50) isn't much, it's more than many currently verified people would be willing to pay. Some politicians and other government accounts would receive a separate free check mark; But non-paying scientists, journalists, and other trusted sources will again find it hard to stand out in the sea of bots, liars, and spam accounts.
But if that wasn't enough, according to leaked internal documents seen by The New York Times(opens in a new tab), following the merger of Twitter Blue and Twitter Verification, subscribers would not need to authenticate their identities to receive the brand of blue check.
If es cierto, lo único que impide que un mal actor verifique una cuenta falsa es una tariffa de € 8 / mes. For people who want to wreak havoc by pretending to be someone they're not, or set up a scam that steals valuable information or money from unsuspecting victims, €8 is a small price to pag.
Of course, not all scammers will be able to spit on every account they manage, but a single verified account would probably have a lot more power to deceive and scam people than an army of unverified accounts, because many people would reasonably expect a verified account to be genuine.
Part of this change could be due to the major layoffs that are expected to be announced on the social network today (November 4). If Twitter reduces its number of employees as drastically as planned, the people who remain may no longer be able to manage Twitter's verification system as it currently exists. This simpler method of giving Twitter Blue followers an instant checkmark would require much less oversight and would be easier to manage with fewer staff.
As with all leaked information, we have to take this news with a grain of salt. No matter what leaks, or even what Elon Musk tweets, we won't know how Twitter Verification and Twitter Blue will change until the company officially releases the details (which should be Monday, November 7).
But if the changes The New York Times is warning about come to fruition, then Musk's claims that paying for verification is the "only way to defeat bots and trolls (opens in a new tab)" are false. . He wouldn't beat the bots, he would empower them.