Bizarrely, Musk believes paying for verification will somehow fix Twitter’s spam problems. One of the main concerns raised about the new paid verification badge is that it would open the floodgates for impersonation and fake accounts. The new Twitter Blue was supposed to launch over the weekend, but then Twitter quietly delayed the feature until November 9th to avoid interfering with the U.S. Musk has promised other changes to come, which we’ll dig into in a moment. The new Twitter Blue boasts two changes: a higher price tag and access to the blue checkmark long used to designate if an account was authentic. In short, one of Musk’s first actions after taking over the company (aside from laying off half the staff and then desperately begging some to come back because it turned out they were essential) was to revamp Twitter’s Blue subscription service. If you have been following along, feel free to bow out now. If you haven’t been following along with Musk’s Twitter takeover turmoil, we’ve got a quick summary for you. And when in doubt, never click a link, even if it doesn’t look suspicious. You can also try and verify the information in a tweet with a trustworthy source. For example, you could use a trustworthy source to find the actual Twitter account (for example, most companies include links to their official social channels on their websites). For example, if someone created a new Twitter account to mess with people, it might have a recent join date, a low number of followers, or a low number of tweets.Īnd if, after all that, you’re still not confident if the account is authentic, assume it isn’t and consider alternate options. Other account details, like when the join date, follower account, or the number of tweets can also help detect potential fakes. Other content clues include pushing people to click suspicious links (for example, a fake Twitter account telling people to click a weird link to sign up for Twitter Blue), or statements that just don’t make sense (like the fake LeBron James account announcing a plan to leave the Lakers). While funny, that tweet obviously didn’t come from a real Nintendo account. For example, a fake Nintendo account tweeted a picture of Mario flipping off the viewer. Tweet content can often prove helpful for detecting suspicious accounts. This works across Twitter’s website and mobile apps.įake Nintendo Twitter account (via Kotaku) However, if you open an account’s profile and click or tap on those badges, a little pop-up will tell you whether the account was verified under the old system or if it was bought. ![]() At first glance, the old verification badge and the new paid badge you get from subscribing the Twitter Blue ( which costs $9.99/month in Canada) are identical. Surprisingly, the most reliable way to check the legitimacy of any account on Twitter is through the blue checkmark. If you’re having a hard time with all these new blue check accounts, here are some tips to figure out which ones are legitimate and which aren’t. Many of these accounts, including fake Nintendo, Valve, LeBron James, Donald Trump, and even Jesus Christ appear more legitimate thanks to the paid badge (Although to be fair, the Jesus account was an existing parody account, but it’s still quite funny to see Jesus verified on Twitter). The Verge, Kotaku, and others reported on a variety of fake accounts for brands, athletes, and more popping up on Twitter in the hours after the new Blue subscription went live. But for those who haven’t followed the real-time collapse of Twitter under its new overlord Elon Musk, these accounts could definitely trick you. For the terminally online, most of these accounts should be easy to spot. While Twitter seems to be suspending them quickly, it feels like a game of high-stakes whack-a-mole - the numbers are in the moles’ favour. Unsurprisingly, Twitter is chock-full of fake accounts sporting the new blue check that anyone can buy for a measly $8.
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