Elon Musk Suspends $8 Twitter Verification Checkmark Amid Proliferation

Elon Musk has suspended Twitter verification almost immediately after it went live as users reportedly started taking advantage of it.

The new policy allows Twitter users to get their account verified after subscribing for a monthly payment of $8.

A number of users who tried to subscribe for the blue check mark reported that the option for the new feature has disappeared. 

Before now, the highly coveted Twitter checkmark was exclusively available to a few people which include public figures, brands, politicians, and journalists.

Investors King learnt that the suspension was due to the proliferation of the new policy. It was reported that fake accounts have been taking advantage of the policy. 

For instance, a fake account with a blue checkmark pretending to be former president George W. Bush tweeted “I miss killing Iraqis.”

Similarly, fake accounts pretending to be big brands including Nestle, Roblox, and pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly have popped up with the blue check mark. 

A fake Eli Lilly account even tweeted that “insulin” will be free before the company released a message to dispel the fake account. 

“We apologise to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account,” the company said.

Subsequently, Twitter announced the suspension of the $8 verification check mark to curb the proliferation and abuse of the new policy. 

It would be recalled that Elon Musk had introduced the $8 verification policy to drive revenue for the social giant. 

Following the acquisition of the microblogging platform in a deal worth $44 billion, Elon Musk who also doubled as Tesla CEO has vowed to turn the fortune of the social media platform around by raising its revenue and diversifying the company’s business portfolio.

The world’s richest man intends to introduce some new services which include car hailing to the Twitter platform. 

He also disclosed his intention to reinstate some banned accounts including a former President of the United States, Donald Trump. 

Meanwhile, Twitter has stated that it will introduce an “official label” to some notable accounts on its platform to combat impersonation.