Twitter Blue’s new verification system is rolling out and as one might expect it’s already causing problems for Grand Theft Auto VI and Nintendo fans. In October, Elon Musk officially took control of Twitter and began making significant changes to make the company profitable and promote “free speech”. This started by laying off half of the company, reducing costs in the process, but reports began to trickle out that the company may have laid off too many vital people and had to ask some people to return. Twitter went on to announce that users would be able to subscribe to Twitter Blue for $8/month and get a verified blue checkmark like celebrities and other high profile accounts. Many feared this would lead to widespread misinformation and impersonation… and that’s exactly what has happened.
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Today, numerous paid verified accounts have popped up on Twitter. Some have gained more traction than others, but a fake Rockstar Games account teased an imminent Grand Theft Auto VI reveal, a fake Nintendo account tweeted a picture of Mario flipping people off, and a fake Valve account announced a new Ricochet game. The Rockstar Games and Nintendo account were both swiftly suspended, the latter of which noted that it was a parody in its bio as requested by Twitter. The Valve account was also suspended despite noting it was a parody account and pinned a tweet about how this new feature can cause a lot of problem for the platform. It’s likely this will be something that continues to happen in a notable capacity over the next week, if not longer.
It’s unclear if this will prompt Twitter to make any meaningful changes, though. As always, if you see some big piece of news whether it’s exciting, scary, or surprising, you should do your due diligence to verify the source. Click on the profile, carefully examine the handle, look at how long the account has existed, followers, older tweets, and more. It’s also worth corroborating it with actual news sources like websites that would cover it if it was real.
Haver you seen any verified accounts impersonating brands or people on Twitter? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.
