Elon Musk on Friday defended his controversial pay model for Twitter, claiming that any social media platform that does not follow suit will fail because they will be swamped by bots.
Musk made his prediction on the eve of Twitter’s April 1st ultimatum that verified accounts with cherished blue ticks that didn’t overspend on cash would lose it.
“The fundamental challenge here is that it’s[easy]to create literally 10,000 or 100,000 fake Twitter accounts using just one computer at home and with modern AI,” Musk said in a question-and-answer session on Twitter. “
“That’s the reason for the really strong emphasis on Verified, where Verified requires a number from a reputable phone carrier and a credit card,” Musk said.
“My prediction is that any so-called social media network that doesn’t do this will fail,” Musk said.
The system change puts pressure on companies, journalists and celebrities who used Twitter as their main channel of communication and rely on blue ticks for credibility.
And it also raises the specter of imposters and clowns paying for an officially verified, but completely fake account.
In the US, the subscription plan, known as Twitter Blue, costs $8 per month or $84 per year, or $11 per month if purchased through Apple’s App Store.
Since its creation in 2009, the blue tick or checkmark became a signature element that helped the platform become a trusted platform for news makers and publicists.
But Musk and his fans said the blue check was fixed by Fiat in a secret process and called it a symbol of an unfair class system.
Opening Blue Tick to paying subscribers was one of the first decisions Musk made when he took ownership of Twitter last year, but his overhaul backfired.
Within hours, Twitter was flooded with fake yet verified accounts impersonating celebrities, major companies, and even Musk himself.
Musk quickly backtracked, but many advertisers fled the site, citing Twitter as a huge source of income as the CEO struggled to replace it.
For now, blue checks from celebrities — including Justin Bieber and his 113 million followers or footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his 108 million — are tagged as “legacy” accounts on the site.
– ‘Would be awesome’ –
The verified account puzzle also includes executives, charities and news media companies.
Axios reported that already the White House, which will hold a special designation as a government entity, told staffers it would not pay to keep blue ticks on its staffers’ official Twitter profiles.
News media companies, firms and charities had already lost their blue ticks and were tagged as verified business accounts under Musk’s new system.
According to Twitter’s website, they cost $1,000 per month in the United States, and $50 for each additional affiliated account.
“It will be terrible for people who can’t afford the new fees,” said Andrew Strohlein, European media director for Human Rights Watch, who said his group would not pay for the privilege.
“This will harm the effectiveness of local activists, including human rights activists, who have long used Twitter for grassroots organizing,” he said in a blog post.
The New York Times said it would not pay for a verified business account and that it would subscribe to Blue Ticks for journalists only when required by reporting requirements.
A “pay to play” verification model is also being trialled by Twitter rival Facebook in Australia and New Zealand, which has also drawn major criticism.
A lot is riding on Musk’s ability to find a business model for Twitter.
Last week, Musk put Twitter’s current value at $20 billion, less than half of the $44 billion he paid for the social media platform just five months ago.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)