Alex Salmond was one of the first to fall victim to Twitter’s blue tick cull. An account with the same name as his began sending out disparaging tweets about his sub-optimal bowel movements. The account was tweeting shortly after Elon Musk removed 400,000 ‘legacy verified’ blue ticks, little badges that sit next to a user’s name, which were originally designed to stop impersonation.
Musk’s removal of the verified ticks – previously given to celebs, politicians and journalists to prove they are who they said they are – makes way for a free market approach to verification. Any tweeter can now pay £9.60 a month for the blue tick (provided their email address has been verified). As well as profile clout, they get access to extra features such as the ability to edit tweets, have an NFT as your profile picture and be prominently shown in the ‘For you’ feed that almost nobody uses.
Some journalists were outraged by the loss of their verified status
Some journalists were outraged by the loss of their verified status.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in