Twitter seems to have suspended its $8 paid verification service after a rise in fake impostor accounts. iOS users say the option to sign up for the verification service has disappeared from the app.
Elon Musk instituted this monthly $8 subscription service after he took over the company some days ago. The tech billionaire said the company was losing money and this was one of the ways it sought to increase revenue.
Before Elon’s takeover, Twitter had a verification service where a “blue check” was allocated to accounts verified by the social media platform to prevent impersonation. Now anyone can get one as long as you pay the $8 subscription fee monthly.
When the $8 verification service was launched, the social media platform was flooded with people creating impostor accounts and acquiring checkmarks cheaply. Many of these impostor accounts were used to impersonate brands, politicians and celebrities with uncomplimentary messages.
CNBC reported that “One current sales employee at Twitter said the company decided to pull back on Twitter Blue verification in response to the spate of impersonators.”
The employee, who asked to remain unnamed since they were not authorized to speak on behalf of Twitter, said one account resembling pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly caused a serious problem when it tweeted out, “we are excited to announce insulin is free now.”
The tweet remained on the social media platform for hours before it was taken down. The real Eli Lilly account later tweeted: “We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account.”
Major corporate and individual accounts such as Nintendo, Tesla, Pope Francis, George Bush, Senator Ed Markey were impersonated.
Some of these fake accounts came up with the weak argument that they were parody accounts. Elon Musk said that accounts engaged in “parody” in their name, not just in bio.
Twitter has not officially made a statement on the suspension of the service
