Twitter has been aggressively pushing its Blue subscription, which unlocks some exclusive features and also gives users a blue verified badge. In another attempt to convince more users to pay for Twitter Blue, the platform will now stop recommending tweets from unverified accounts. More than that, non-Blue users will no longer be able to vote in polls.
Twitter to restrict what non-Blue users can do
The announcement was made by Twitter owner Elon Musk on Monday, who said that such changes will take effect on April 15. According to Musk, only verified accounts will be eligible to have their tweets shown in the For You tab. This tab is used to show suggested content.
But that’s not all. Musk also said in the same tweet that accounts that are not subscribed to Twitter Blue will no longer be able to vote in polls. He claims that this is the “only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over.”
Earlier this month, Twitter made the Blue subscription available globally. Right after that, the company announced that legacy verified users will lose their badge on April 1 unless they pay for the Blue subscription. In the US, the Twitter Blue subscription costs $8 per month, or $11 if you’re subscribing from the iOS app.
Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.
The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.
Voting in polls will require verification for same reason.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
9to5Mac’s Take
Musk’s claim that restricting the reach of tweets from unverified accounts or even preventing them from voting in polls is the only way to stop bots is simply a lie. Right now, anyone with a valid phone number can get the blue checkmark by paying for Twitter Blue. Twitter never asks for a government ID to actually check if that person is the real owner of that account.
Twitter’s verification system has never been perfect. However, in the past, eligible users had to prove their identity by submitting an ID and other evidence of their notability to confirm who they are. Twitter Blue’s verified badge is not proof of identity. It’s a proof of status. And it won’t stop bots or fake Twitter accounts.
At this point, Musk is simply desperate to make money from Twitter. After all, the company is now valued at $20 billionwhile he paid $44 billion for it in October. As the owner of Twitter, Musk can do whatever he wants with it. But his arguments to justify the latest changes are extremely questionable.
In the meantime, he continues to fire key engineers and executives while the platform faces constant outagesserious bugs, and even security breaches. As an old Twitter fan, it’s simply too sad to watch it burn.
Read also
- Twitter users complain about seeing tweets from accounts they don’t follow
- Jack Dorsey’s Twitter competitor ‘Bluesky’ now available on the App Store, but you still need an invite
- Twitter timelines filled with Musk tweets; API change delayed; Chinese dissidents invisible
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