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Elon Musk is at it again... and this time with a firm deadline.
The Twitter CEO who acquired the company in October 2022 for $44 billion is once again rolling out his business plan to try to recoup his losses by mining the coveted blue checkmark status symbol for cash.
If you recall, Musk tried and failed when he launched a subscription service for the verified marking in the fall. He quickly rescinded his brilliant idea when parody accounts were created, spreading false information and in some cases, even causing stock prices to plummet.
Musk relaunched the service which costs $8/month for web users and $11/month for iPad and iPhone users, but many previously verified individuals still haven't jumped on board.
And they may never, despite Musk's final warnings.
William Shatner, for one, isn't having it. He called out Musk on the platform, asking why he should suddenly pay for something that he's had for free for the last 15 years.
The original purpose of verification—to verify the identities of official accounts for businesses and individuals with large followings such as celebrities to avoid fraud and phishing scams—continues to elude Musk. The self-appointed Twitter boss still views the blue check as the sought after status symbol it became instead of a means of protecting users.
Musk quote tweeted without tagging Shatner:
"It's more about treating everyone equally."
\u201cIt\u2019s more about treating everyone equally. There shouldn\u2019t be a different standard for celebrities imo.\u201d— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1679886324
Musk also replied to a complaint with:
"It will be glorious."
\u201c@catturd2 It will be glorious \ud83d\ude80 \ud83d\udcab \ud83d\udc97\u201d— Catturd \u2122 (@Catturd \u2122) 1679914149
On Sunday, Monica Lewinsky posted a screenshot to Twitter of all the fake accounts displaying her moniker, including accounts with a paid for "verified" status.
\u201cwell this is going to be fun\u2026\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
She then added:
"In what universe is this fair to people who can suffer consequences for being impersonated?"
"A lie travels half way around the world before truth even gets out the door."
\u201cin what universe is this fair to people who can suffer consequences for being impersonated? a lie travels half way around the world before truth even gets out the door.\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
Musk scrapped his first blue check money grab after multiple verified accounts bore his name.
The move by Musk harkened the adage "one sign of privilege is deciding something isn't a problem until it's a problem for you."
Lewinsky then shared her Instagram handle with her Twitter followers.
\u201ci\u2019m on insta @monica_lewinsky\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
Many users agreed with Lewinsky.
The blue check was intended to prevent the spread of misinformation and fraud.
But Musk's plan allows any account to obtain the symbol and spout garbage.
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky we are with you.\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@JustinLeeper_yo @MonicaLewinsky It's going to be chaos\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky It's sad that @elonmusk can't find other ways to make money on @Twitter without destroying one of the safety nets that users had. A blue check was not really a status symbol but it truly was a VERIFICATION that the account belonged to the real person they say they were.\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky I mean if "verification" meant, like, "verification," that would be one thing. But ,"verification" seems to mean, like, "I have $8."\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky and the worst is yet to come: because soon those previously verified for authenticity will lose the blue mark and only those who pay to pretend to be legitimate will remain\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky This problem alone is going to drive many of the most influential people off of twitter.\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky Good old Twitter. You think that this will be another. Implement and then roll back after less than 48 hours as it clearly emerges as an easily predicted trainwreck?\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky @BarbBanfieldRN pretty amazing..and creepy. now when i see the bue check i will think, 'this person is so insecure, they are paying each month so that we, the audience, will think they are *something*. what good is that..\ud83d\ude35\u200d\ud83d\udcab\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky When a greedy owner decides $8 a month is more important than the integrity of the platform.\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky @ScientistMel Anybody can buy a blue check now thanks to Space Daddy. Might be legit but more likely someone trying to capitalize on Monica's fame.\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
\u201c@MonicaLewinsky The irony is that your verification will be removed soon, the fake account will stay (unless you pay ofcourse... In which case you'll be the second verified you)\u201d— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@Monica Lewinsky (she/her)) 1679834915
Appropriately, the new verification service is set to launch on April 1.
The Twitterverse will have to wait and see how many (legit) blue checks are still around come April Fool's Day.
Here's hoping this is all a big, bad joke.