Elon Musk defended his controversial Twitter pay model on Friday. Claiming that any social media site that did not follow suit would fail due to bots.
Musk made his forecast on the eve of Twitter’s April 1 deadline. When verified accounts with the coveted blue tick who had not paid would lose it.
“The fundamental challenge here is that it’s (easy) to create literally 10,000 or 100,000 fake Twitter accounts using just one computer at home. And modern AI (artificial intelligence),” Musk said during a Twitter Q&A session.
“That’s why we’re pushing so hard for verified, which requires a phone number from a reputable phone carrier and a credit card,” Musk explained.
“Any so-called social media network that does not do this will fail,” Musk predicted.
The system change places pressure on businesses and journalists. And celebrities who used Twitter as their primary communication channel and depended on the blue tick for credibility.
It also raises the possibility of imposters and jokesters paying for a formally verified but completely bogus account.
In the United States, the Twitter Blue subscription package costs $8 per month or $84 per year. Or $11 per month if purchased through Apple’s app store.
Since its inception in 2009, the blue tick or checkmark has become a signature element of the platform. Assisting it in becoming a trusted venue for newsmakers and campaigners.
However, Musk and his supporters claimed that the blue check was decided by fiat. That too in a secretive process and that it was a symbol of an unfair class system.
Opening the blue tick to paying users was one of Musk’s first choices after taking over Twitter last year. But his overhaul backfired.
Within hours, Twitter was inundated with verified fake accounts impersonating celebrities, big corporations, and even Musk himself.
Musk quickly reversed his decision, but many advertisers left the site, denying Twitter a major source of revenue that the CEO is trying to replace.
For the time being, blue checks of celebrities, such as Justin Bieber’s 113 million followers or footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s 108 million, are labelled as “legacy” profiles on the site.
‘Will be terrible’ –
Officials, charities, and news media firms are all involved in the verified account saga.
Already, the White House, which will retain a special designation as a government entity, informed workers that it would not cost to keep the blue tick on their official Twitter accounts, according to Axios.
Under Musk’s new method, news media organizations, firms, and charities have already lost their blue tick and been labelled as verified business accounts.
According to Twitter’s website, these cost $1,000 per month in the US, plus $50 for each extra affiliated account.
“This will be terrible for those who cannot afford the new fees,” said Andrew Stroehlein, European Media Director of Human Rights Watch, adding that his organisation would not pay for the privilege.
“It will jeopardise the effectiveness of local activists, including human rights activists, who have long used Twitter for grassroots organizing,” he wrote in a blog post.
