NAIROBI, Kenya, April 22 – Imposter accounts have taken advantage of the move by twitter to strip off the blue verification badges from its users who have not paid the subscription fees.
This after the Elon Musk owned social platform made real its threats that it would begin winding down its legacy verified program and removing legacy verified check marks.
The symbol previously signifying a verified account vanished from users including deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, COTU boss Francis Atwoli, national assembly speaker, journalist Larry Madowo and former deputy presidential candidate Martha Karua.
“I will not pay to get reverified. If unchecked, Twitter could easily an imposters paradise, a scammers paradise because of this chaotic scene that has been created by Elon Musk “said Madowo
Twitter also unverified the official accounts of Citizen tv, KTN News and Nation, leaving the media houses vulnerable to several imposter accounts.
A spot check by Capital FM revealed several accounts created under the name of Citizen television some of which have resorted to peddling fake news purporting to be the official account of the media house.
“Stay updated and debunk fake news by following our official twitter account “tweeted Citizen TV, in the wake of numerous imposter accounts under its name. Twitter had on March 24 announced the intended withdrawal of the blue badges, in a bid to end what Musk termed a “lords and peasants system”.
On April 3rd, Twitter announced that, as part of its new verification procedure, government-affiliated agencies and commercial accounts will now have to pay a monthly cost of $1,000 (Sh132,520) while its CEOs, officials and subsidiaries would pay $50 (Sh6,626).
“A Twitter verified organization’s subscription is $1,000/month (plus any applicable tax) and $50/month (plus any applicable tax) for each additional affiliate in the US. Prices may vary by region and are subject to change,” Twitter stated.
Other users would pay $8 (Sh1,048) for the standard blue badge in changes Musk outlined on November 25, 2022, which saw the rollout of unique colored badges.
Twitter clustered the badges in three broad categories: gold for companies, grey for government and blue for individuals including celebrities.
Under Twitter Blue, subscribers will enjoy priorities in replies, mentions and searches, which Musk said was essential to defeating spam and scams.
The new move by twitter has raised outrage amongst its users who have lost the badge with some swearing to not subscribe.
The move is likely to plunge the platform into confusion over which account is real and which one is fake as anyone can now pay for the blue badge and claim legitimacy.
