Twitter Verification leak makes the new system sound worse than we feared

Date:
Fri, 04 Nov 2022 11:53:23 +0000

Description:
Twitter Verification is changing for the worse; according to leaks it might
no longer ask you to verify your identity

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If you somehow havent heard, Elon Musk has bought Twitter and has already started announcing and enacting major changes to how the social media site operates. One of the most controversial is that Twitter Verification will go from a free feature to a paid one, but the change might be even worse than we first thought: getting the blue checkmark may no longer require any actual verification.

In his breakdown of why Musks changes will destroy Twitter , our US Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff highlighted some issues with needing to pay up for the blue check mark.

First, unlike Netflix , HBO Max , and the other best streaming services , Twitter doesnt make its own content, it relies on its users to provide it.
And unlike YouTube, theres no in-app way for creators to make money from Twitter. Effectively, the change would ask Twitters most valuable assets (its top creators) to pay for the privilege of making Twitter better without receiving anything in return.

Second, while $8/month (around 7 / AU$12.50) isnt a lot, its more than many currently verified people will be willing to pay. Some politicians and other government accounts will reportedly receive a separate free verification-like mark; but scientists, journalists, and other trustworthy sources who dont pay up will once again struggle to stand out in the sea of bots, liars, and spam accounts. Elon Musk is making some big changes to Twitter, not all of them
are popular (Image credit: Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

But if that wasnt bad enough, according to leaked internal documents seen by The New York Times , following the merging of Twitter Blue and Twitter Verification, subscribers would not need to get their identities
authenticated to receive the blue check mark.

If true then the only thing stopping a bad actor from getting a fake account verified is an $8/month fee. For people wanting to sow chaos by pretending to be someone they arent, or set up a scam that steals valuable information or money from unsuspecting victims, $8 is a small price to pay.

Sure, not every scammer will be able to cough up for every account they run, but a single Verified account would likely have a lot more power to trick and scam people than an army of unverified ones as many people would reasonably expect a Verified account to be genuine.

Part of this change could be because of the major layoffs that are expected
to be announced at the social media company today (November 4). If Twitter is cutting its employee count as drastically as is predicted then the people
that remain may no longer be able to manage the Twitter Verification system
as it currently exists. This simpler method that offers Twitter Blue subscribers an instant checkmark would require much less oversight and be easier to manage with smaller staff counts.

As with all leaked information we have to take this news with a pinch of
salt. No matter what is leaked or even what Elon Musk tweets out we wont know how Twitter Verification and Twitter Blue will change until the company officially lays out the details (which we expect will be on Monday, November 7).

But, if the changes that The New York Times is warning about come to be then Musks claims that paying for verification is the only way to defeat the bots & trolls is wrong. This wouldnt beat the bots, it would supercharge them.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/twitter-verification-leak-makes-the-new-system- sound-worse-than-we-feared/


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