Twitter Purge Removes Verification Badges from Prominent Users
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Twitter Inc. has removed “state-affiliated” and “government-funded” labels from media accounts in Western countries, as well as those from Russia and China.
Among the media outlets that no longer have the “state-affiliated” label are Russia’s RT and Sputnik, and China’s Xinhua, Global Times and China Daily.
Meanwhile, the “government-funded” label has been removed from BBC’s and NPR’s accounts. Although the labels are not visible on the website, Twitter has not commented on the move, which was reported by AFP.
The move came after Western outlets BBC and NPR complained about being labeled as “government-funded media” or “state-affiliated.”
On the same platform, prominent Twitter commentators have begun losing their prized blue checkmarks. Elon Musk, Twitter’s owner, has pushed forward with his plan to remove verification tags for users who decline to pay a subscription fee.
The Twitter purge started on Thursday, as accounts, including those of Pope Francis, and former President Donald Trump, lost their blue badges. Other big-name users who are no longer verified on the platform include Bill Gates, Justin Bieber, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion last October, rolled out a subscription service at $8 per month last December, allowing users to pay for verification. Legacy checkmark holders lost their exclusivity, given that anyone could buy one, and some complained that the policy change would help online impersonators. Some critics of the plan, such as former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, asked her followers to connect with her on Instagram and “most of the other new places that have real verification under my name.”
Musk argued that under Twitter’s old verification program, blue checkmarks were granted through a “corrupt and nonsensical” system. The Twitter Blue subscription service is a way of “treating everyone equally,” he said. “There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities.” Requiring users to pay for verification may also help eliminate spam and bot accounts. Twitter previously announced that it would begin removing legacy blue checkmarks from unsubscribed accounts on April 1, but Musk pushed the date back to April 20, apparently alluding to 420, a slang term for marijuana.