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This system is a joke
Over at The Washington Post, tech journalist Geoffrey Fowler (opens in new tab), with the permission of a sitting Senator and a comedian, created two fake “verified” Blue Check Twitter accounts in minutes.
Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey and comedian Blaire Erskine both agree to let Fowler create the fake accounts in their names.
As Fowler writes:
“Twitter has said accounts that impersonate people are not allowed and face suspension when they’re discovered. It booted comedian Kathy Griffin after she changed her Twitter screen name to Elon Musk. But there’s very little about Twitter’s new paid service that stops you from verifying a fake account. As of the time I published this column, its systems hadn’t detected these were not authentic accounts and they remained online.”
What does this prove? That there is no verification in this “verification.” Elon Musk has created a broken system (one since hidden) and that has already been gamed by others to more devastating effect.
Someone created a fake Ely Lilly And Co “verified” Twitter account and then tweeted that insulin was now free (opens in new tab). While it may have been coincidental. the real drug company’s stock did take a dive.
Yeah, it’s not great when @geoffreyfowler can set up a fake Twitter account for a U.S. Senator in minutes. (Geoff had permission from Sen. Markey.) https://t.co/YMBA9cEsUI pic.twitter.com/PE7bS6BJSqNovember 11, 2022
Unchecking
Despite the controversy surrounding the new Blue Check process and the ability to become a Twitter Blue member suddenly disappearing from the platform, many people have already opted to pay $8 for their own Blue Check.
If, however, you’re not satisfied, you can, according to Twitter user @Dash, get a quick refund on your $8 subscription charge through Apple.
This isn’t surprising since it’s easy to unsubscribe to almost any service you’ve paid for through Apple’s App Store.
What @Dash claims, though, is that after your refund, you still get to keep the “tick” (Blue Check) for 30 days. That may or may not be so, though. While it might take some time for Apple to process the cancellation and hand it off to Twitter, it seems unlikely that the Blue Check would hang around for long.
If there’s anyone out there who did have Blue Check buyer’s remorse, canceled, and still has the tick, let us know.
So, fun fact! You can claim a refund for Twitter Blue through Apple, receive all of your money back in one day and then keep the tick for 30 days.Very cool, I’m sure that no potential bad actors will exploit this!!! pic.twitter.com/JGg6S4gnpLNovember 10, 2022
What’s a journalist?
Lance Ulanoff hopping in here:
For Chief Twit Elon Musk, so much of the Blue Check verification mess boils down to Citizen Journalism.
Musk wants everyone on Twitter to deliver the news (nothing has stopped them up to now). However, the unlevel playing field of Blue Check haves and have-nots has created, as Musk sees it, an imbalance. With the meaning and value of Blue checks reduced to the price of an expensive cup of coffee (one per month), it means anyone can be verified and, if they report news on Twitter, have the same visibility.
Musk Tweeted Friday afternoon, “As Twitter pursues the goal of elevating citizen journalism, media elite will try everything to stop that from happening.”
In Musk’s eyes, professional journalists are the “media elite” and we’re blocking his everyone is a journalist dream.
As this tech reporter told Musk on Twitter, though, the issue is not citizen journalists, it’s that the entire Blue Check system is no longer tied to identity, quality, or any semblance of truth. Without that, no one, including his citizen journalists, can be trusted.
As Twitter pursues the goal of elevating citizen journalism, media elite will try everything to stop that from happeningNovember 11, 2022
Here’s a reply from Musk an hour ago, where he’s enthusiastic of how Twitter Blue is going so far.
Which makes us wonder – has he gotten the memo?
People forget that pull-to-refresh was invented by Loren Brichter, and first deployed in his Tweetie app, which Twitter acquired long ago. Twitter owns a patent for it, but it’s now so commonly used that it’s impossible to imagine mobile UI without it. https://t.co/rqy5VUrnq1November 17, 2020
I was thinking back to when I first used Twitter on my iPhone, and it was indeed Tweetie, which was bought by the company, and then turned into the app you use today.
The pull-to-refresh gesture is now a standard on many apps, such as Apple’s Safari and Mail apps.
Just to add to the chaos, Musk has now tweeted this from the Twitter HQ. While we don’t ever suggest reading too much into tweets, especially from someone as mercurial as Musk, it does perhaps give us a glimpse into the current mindset of the remaining Twitter employees…
Twitter HQ is great (this is a real pic) pic.twitter.com/qjfOQCr533November 11, 2022
By tweeting and highlighting this, it seems that Musk is aware, though what he thinks of it is a mystery, as always.
If you’ve heard of Mastodon this week, you’re not alone. Luckily, I’ve been trying it out lately and it’s a great alternative. There are a couple of apps you can use right now on iOS and Android if you’ve already signed up to Mastodon as well.
Our US Editor-In-Chief Lance Ulanoff sent us this which reads as though he’s saying farewell to Twitter:
“I’ve met some of the coolest people on Twitter. I’ve interacted with my idols and icons and made true friends. Twitter has always worked the way my brain works – in bite-sized pieces. Honestly not sure how I’ll maintain certain friendships and connections or where I’ll post random thoughts that make me happy without it. Please, Microsoft, buy Twitter.”
NEW: Twitter has suspended the launch of Twitter Blue and is actively trying to stop people from subscribing “to help address impersonation issues,” per an internal note. 1/November 11, 2022
Zoë Schiffer (opens in new tab), writer at Platformer, tweeted the above that a message was posted in the Twitter Slack, that confirmed the end of Twitter Blue and paid blue ticks in order to stop the impersonations, but any existing subscriptions to the service will carry on as usual.
First account is the verified official one. Second is a $8 fake thanks to the Musk subscription. Easy to tell when you look at the follower count, very, very hard to tell when shared into your feed. Impossible actually without clicking through. HT @meemalee for spotting. pic.twitter.com/uKumOYRTeINovember 10, 2022
Another one that was sent to me from Muskaan, this tweet shows how broken the verification system under Twitter Blue was. One is the genuine Apple TV Plus account, another is a fake one.
Hopefully we’ll see a reversal of this, as it’s already confusing to tell which one is real or fake for many users.
being on Twitter right now is like playing the violin on the titanic except we are also making fun of the iceberg and the iceberg is getting genuinely madNovember 6, 2022
Our (fantastic) Computing writer Muskaan Saxena sent me this tweet, and it’s a great analogy for how users are feeling on Twitter.
A mad iceberg in the shape of the Twitter bird is quite the image.
So where do we stand so far?
Musk has yet to react to any development to Twitter today, which is surprising. The above is, at the time of posting this, his latest tweet.
However, we’ve noticed a small change with the ticks, where it’s also blue when you’re in dark mode on the site.