Elon Musk's Twitter Purge Falls Flat as He Targets One Account Over Many Legacy Users
When Elon Musk announced a purge of blue check marks on Twitter, many high-profile users expected to lose their coveted verification. Instead, the billionaire CEO singled out one account - that of The New York Times - and changed the language on his site to obscure why users are verified.
The move came as part of a long-running campaign by Musk to get rid of "legacy" blue check marks from users who were verified under Twitter's old system. In early November, the platform launched an option for people paying $8 per month for its Twitter Blue subscription service to receive blue checks. However, the program was plagued by a wave of celebrity and corporate impersonators, leading Musk to pause it.
Twitter relaunched the program in December but with a color-coded verification system that assigns differently colored marks to companies and government entities. Despite this, Musk continued to insist that individual users would eventually have to pay for blue checks.
However, when prominent user Monica Lewinsky posted a meme about The New York Times declining to pay for verification, Musk took action - not against the Twitter account's users, but against the outlet itself. In a series of tweets, Musk lashed out at the news organization, claiming its coverage was boring and "propaganda."
The move has raised questions about whether Musk is using his platform to target specific outlets or journalists who he disagrees with. It also highlights how confusing Twitter can be for users, particularly when it comes to verification.
While some legacy blue check holders found that their verification marks had not disappeared but were instead appended with a new label reading: “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.” This move makes it unclear whether verified accounts are actually notable individuals or simply users who have paid to join Twitter Blue.
It's worth noting that The New York Times' main account lost its blue check, but its other accounts remained verified. It's not clear why the outlet doesn't have a gold "organizations" check mark, like accounts for other news outlets.
The move has also been met with criticism from experts in inauthentic behavior, who say it's unclear that reserving verification for paid users will reduce the number of bots on the site. Additionally, the new label could risk making it easier for people to scam or impersonate high-profile users.
Musk has previously presented changes to Twitter's verification system as a way of "treating everyone equally." However, critics argue that this is not true, particularly when it comes to targeting specific outlets or journalists who disagree with him. The move also raises questions about the role of money in the platform's decision-making process - Musk has said that paying for blue checks could drive revenue and help him pay off his debt.
When Elon Musk announced a purge of blue check marks on Twitter, many high-profile users expected to lose their coveted verification. Instead, the billionaire CEO singled out one account - that of The New York Times - and changed the language on his site to obscure why users are verified.
The move came as part of a long-running campaign by Musk to get rid of "legacy" blue check marks from users who were verified under Twitter's old system. In early November, the platform launched an option for people paying $8 per month for its Twitter Blue subscription service to receive blue checks. However, the program was plagued by a wave of celebrity and corporate impersonators, leading Musk to pause it.
Twitter relaunched the program in December but with a color-coded verification system that assigns differently colored marks to companies and government entities. Despite this, Musk continued to insist that individual users would eventually have to pay for blue checks.
However, when prominent user Monica Lewinsky posted a meme about The New York Times declining to pay for verification, Musk took action - not against the Twitter account's users, but against the outlet itself. In a series of tweets, Musk lashed out at the news organization, claiming its coverage was boring and "propaganda."
The move has raised questions about whether Musk is using his platform to target specific outlets or journalists who he disagrees with. It also highlights how confusing Twitter can be for users, particularly when it comes to verification.
While some legacy blue check holders found that their verification marks had not disappeared but were instead appended with a new label reading: “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.” This move makes it unclear whether verified accounts are actually notable individuals or simply users who have paid to join Twitter Blue.
It's worth noting that The New York Times' main account lost its blue check, but its other accounts remained verified. It's not clear why the outlet doesn't have a gold "organizations" check mark, like accounts for other news outlets.
The move has also been met with criticism from experts in inauthentic behavior, who say it's unclear that reserving verification for paid users will reduce the number of bots on the site. Additionally, the new label could risk making it easier for people to scam or impersonate high-profile users.
Musk has previously presented changes to Twitter's verification system as a way of "treating everyone equally." However, critics argue that this is not true, particularly when it comes to targeting specific outlets or journalists who disagree with him. The move also raises questions about the role of money in the platform's decision-making process - Musk has said that paying for blue checks could drive revenue and help him pay off his debt.
Elon musk is literally having a meltdown over legacy users 
like who cares about some old blue check marks? 
he thinks targeting one account like ny times is gonna send a message or something... pls no 
this just makes the platform even more confusing for regular users. and what's up w/ charging people to be verified? it sounds like a scam 
to me. also, it's super weird that he's trying to "treat everyone equally" when he's basically picking and choosing which outlets get left alone 
When it comes to verification on Twitter, it's clear that Elon Musk wants to shake things up - but at what cost? The way he's handling the situation is nothing short of "shooting the messenger" instead of addressing the real issues. 
. So Elon Musk is trying to "treat everyone equally" but really he's just picking on The New York Times because they're one of the few outlets that actually do journalism right 
. And what's up with the new label? It sounds like he's just trying to confuse people and make it harder for them to tell who's a real person and who's just buying their way in 
! I mean, 1 in 10 verified users are legacy accounts who shouldn't be targeted like this 
. The move is super confusing for regular users too - they just want to know if someone is legit or not 
.
. The NYC Times' account being targeted doesn't help either - I mean, why single them out? 
[ GIF of Elon Musk with a red X over his head] 
[ GIF of a breaking glass].
and basically sayin they're not worthy of a blue checkmark 
. newsflash, Elon, that's not how you treat your users fairly 
.
and what's up with all these different labels?! 
... and I'm just here for the shade 
I'm kinda surprised by how little buzz this Twitter purge is getting 
. If outlets can't afford to pay for verification, who gets to decide what's "notable" and what's not? It raises some serious questions about bias and credibility 
.
. Can't we just have a simple verification process without all the drama and controversy? 
but honestly it's just confusing for everyone 
And what's up with The New York Times getting targeted? Like, isn't journalism supposed to be about telling the truth, not propaganda 
