Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter will make things harder for journalists

Blue ticks are currently important in that they clearly distinguish legitimate publishers from false accounts, writes Harriet Williamson

Musk’s plans currently include no provisions to prevent fake accounts that impersonate journalists and public figures being verified and receiving the tick (Reuters)

Since Elon Musk completed his $44bn purchase of Twitter last month, the news of shake-ups regarding the social media platform have come thick and fast.

The world’s richest person fired Twitter’s entire human rights team last week, and layoffs at the company are expected to amount to roughly 50 per cent of staff. Around 3,700 Twitter employees worldwide have already been let go, and Musk has defended his decision, saying he “had no choice”.

The social network’s founder, Jack Dorsey, apologised in a series of tweets on Sunday, writing: “I realise many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologise for that.”

Musk also floated the idea that the “blue tick” verification, currently granted to celebrities, politicians, publishers and journalists who have submitted proof of identity and an explanation of why their account is of “public interest”, would be available to everyone who paid a $19.99 monthly subscription.

After a public haggling exchange with everyone’s favourite Horror Dad Stephen King, Musk decided to reduce the price to $7.99 per month (£7) – suggesting that the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire might just be making all this up as he goes along.

It has been reported that those who do not subscribe to Twitter Blue – currently live in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – will lose their verified status.

Blue ticks are currently important in that they clearly distinguish legitimate publishers from false accounts – and Musk’s plans currently include no provisions to prevent fake accounts that impersonate journalists and public figures being verified and receiving the tick.

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Mass paid-for verification will make life more difficult for journalists who need to quickly identify the veracity of statements and stories as part of their day-to-day duties. And it could, as things stand, enable bad actors to masquerade as journalists and give increased weight to misinformation, bogus stories and hate speech.

It’s not difficult to imagine that journalists who are already inundated by frightening and harmful abuse on social media (particularly women, LGBT+ folks and women of colour) could be the target of malicious accounts that impersonate them or are devoted to bullying them – now with the added boost of a blue tick.

There’s also the concern that the concept of a verified profile will be rendered meaningless by the Twitter Blue subscription. If anyone can pay for it, it no longer serves its original purpose, and any value it once had is gone.

Yours,

Harriet Williamson

Voices commissioning editor