Twitter delays $8 ‘blue check’ verification program until after mid-term


New York
CNN Business

Twitter is delaying the rollout of account verification for its paid Twitter Blue subscription program until after the midterm elections, a source familiar with the decision confirmed to CNN.

The decision to delay the new feature comes a day after the platform rolled out an updated version of its iOS app that promised to allow users who pay a monthly subscription fee to get a blue check on their profile Tagging, a feature that CEO Elon Musk proposed as a way to fight spam on the platform.

The app’s latest update, outlined on Apple’s App Store, says users will now have to pay $7.99 a month for the company’s Twitter Blue verification feature, “like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow.” Long-term Checkmarks have been used to confirm the veracity of government officials, prominent personalities, and journalists since.

CNN’s testing of the service on Saturday afternoon indicated that the rollout of the service was not complete before Sunday’s decision. A new Twitter account created by CNN opted for the paid feature and didn’t show a checkmark on its public profile. Twitter still seems to be charging $4.99, which is an outdated price.

The decision to delay the rollout comes as the entire decision to charge users for verification is facing widespread public opposition. In a show of provocation, some celebrities on the platform impersonated Musk over the weekend and exposed potential flaws in the “blue check” system.

Comedian Sarah Silverman used her verified account to trick Musk into copying his profile photo, cover image and name.The only thing that distinguishes tweets from Silverman’s account is @SarahKSilverman handle.

“I’m an absolutist of free speech, I eat something for breakfast every day,” Silverman tweet Saturday. Her account also retweeted posts supporting Democratic candidates.

On Sunday, Silverman’s account was flagged as “temporarily restricted” and visitors were shown a warning that “there is some unusual activity on this account” before clicking on the profile. The comedian then changed her account back to its usual form, with her own name and image attached.

TV actress Valerie Bettinelli also changed her account name For Twitter’s CEO, tweet that friday[t]His blue checkmark just means your identity is verified. It will be harder for scammers to impersonate you. This no longer applies. Good luck! ” She then responded to a follower who asked how the checkmark no longer applies, writing“[y]A person can buy a blue checkmark for $7.99 a month without verifying who you are. ”

After changing her profile name to Musk, Bertinelli posted and retweeted support for several Democratic candidates and hashtags, including “VoteBlueForDemocracy” and “#VoteBlueIn2022.”

The actress changed her account name back to Valerie Bertinelli on Sunday, tweet“[o]I had a good time and I think my point is correct. ”

Sunday, Musk tweet Namely, “Going forward, any Twitter account that impersonates without explicitly stating ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.”

The trolling came after Musk bought the company and promised to restore the accounts of users who had previously been banned from the platform, most notably former President Donald Trump. Musk also said he would limit the company’s content restrictions and require paid subscriptions for account verification.

In recent months, Musk has shared conspiracy theories about the attack on Paul Pelosi, Call Democrats are party of ‘division and hatred’ Comparison of Former Twitter CEO warns Joseph Stalin that “brain virus will destroy civilization”.

CNN’s Brian Fung and Donie O’Sullivan contributed to this report.



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