Twitter renames “official”; The $8 blue check mark option fades

Nov 11 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s Twitter affiliate on Friday restored the “official” badge to some accounts just days after they were taken down, while many users reported a new subscription option for the blue check mark had disappeared.

The move follows a surge in fake accounts on the platform after new boss Elon Musk allowed users to pay $8 for the coveted blue check mark previously reserved for verified accounts of politicians, actors and other major figures.

Fake accounts of several major brands appeared with the blue check, including Musk’s Tesla (TSLA.O) and SpaceX as well as Roblox and Nestle (NESN.S) Lockheed Martin (LMT.N).

“To combat impersonation, we have added an ‘official’ label to some accounts,” the Twitter support account – which is labeled ‘official’ – tweeted on Friday. Musk tweeted on Wednesday that he “killed” the new label, just hours after it was introduced.

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N) An apology after a fraudulent account tweeted that insulin would be free, amid political backlash and scrutiny of drug price hikes.

“We apologize to those who received a misleading message from a fake Lilly account,” the company said, repeating the name of its Twitter account.

Among other examples, a number of misleading tweets about Tesla circulated from a verified account with the same profile picture as the company’s official account on the platform.

“Twitter has been working over the past several years to try to improve[disinformation],” said AJ Power, a professor at the University of Alabama. “And it appears that Elon Musk exposed it within weeks.”

Musk said Twitter users who engage in impersonation without clearly identifying it as a “parody” account will be permanently suspended without notice. Many fake brand accounts, including Nintendo accounts (7974.T) and BP, she was suspended.

Meanwhile, several users said the option to sign up for Twitter Blue, the subscription service that comes with a blue check check, has disappeared.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier today, Musk said his companies will be in good shape in 2023 despite the potential for a tough economy.

Musk’s tweet came a day after he raised the possibility of Twitter going bankrupt. In his first company-wide email, Musk warned that Twitter would not be able to “survive the next economic downturn” if it failed to increase subscription revenue to offset declining advertising income, three people who have seen the letter told Reuters.

Many companies, including General Motors (GM.N) United Airlines (UAL.O), pause or quit advertising on the platform after Musk takes over. In response, the billionaire said on Wednesday that he aims to turn Twitter into a force for truth and stop fake accounts.

Additional reporting by Nivedita Balu and Shivani Tana in Bengaluru; Editing by Dania Ann Thubel and Devika Siamnath

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.