It was until now a symbol of recognition on Twitter, reserved for personalities and organizations, but from April 1, the famous blue mark should disappear from all profiles, except those who will pay to use it.
After a first attempt, which had prompted a swarm of trolls and impostors to sometimes pretend to be Elon Musk himself, the boss of the social network intends to carry out this development, against all odds.
This blue notch, affixed next to the name of the profile, has nevertheless become, since its creation in 2009, one of the essential marks on Twitter, courted by the accounts which wanted to be certified, allowing the platform to become a safe forum for stars, politicians, organizations and journalists.
But the billionaire, and his army of fans, sees it on the contrary as the mark of a two-tier system, separating what he presents as the “plebeians” of Twitter from a privileged elite.
One of its first decisions, after taking over the network last year, was to redesign Twitter Blue, the paid version of Twitter, by integrating certification, a reform that quickly turned into a fiasco.
In the hours that followed, fake accounts, but certified, flourished, posing as celebrities or large companies, sometimes not without consequence: the title of pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly thus plunged because of an announcement on one of those fake accounts.
Faced with a tide of fake accounts himself, Mr. Musk backed down, instituting a system of verification of option subscribers, but too late: many of the major advertisers left Twitter, reducing the network’s revenue.
Since his takeover, Elon Musk has significantly cut staff and at the same time restored access to those whose accounts had been blocked, sparking an explosion of hate speech and online violence, according to organizations monitoring social networks.
– “Two-speed space” –
It remains to be seen how many users will pay to keep their certification. “The question is: do you accept this blackmail?” asks Rob Enderle, analyst for Enderle Group.
For a brand or a celebrity, the risk, if they refuse to pay, is to see an imposter do it to pretend to be the official account, he underlines.
Those who pay via Twitter Blue will not be subject to the extensive verification required to qualify for free, according to a blog post from the group.
“In summary, Twitter Blue is a receipt, proof of payment by the user,” summarizes Avi Greengart, analyst for Techsponential.
“It’s a way to treat everyone fairly,” Elon Musk replied last week to a tweet from Star Trek legend William Shatner, who explained refusing to pay, “there shouldn’t be any different treatment for celebrities”.
According to Travis Brown, a software developer who also specializes in social media monitoring, 13,200 accounts have so far chosen to pay to maintain their certification. “At this speed, it will be 5% on April 1,” he estimated Thursday.
The question also arises for the media, which have the certification reserved for companies but will have to pay 1,500 dollars per month to keep it.
A spokesperson for the New York Times assured that the daily will not pay and will only do so, on a case-by-case basis “when a verified status is essential to the job”, for its journalists.
On the side of the Washington Post, we prefer to wait in order to see the consequences of the change while the AFP, in an internal email to its journalists, explained “to study the situation” and will be able to “adapt if necessary”.
As for organizations, the model makes people cringe, while the idea is being emulated: Facebook is currently testing it in Australia and New Zealand.
“Instead of reforming his platform to promote access to reliable information, Elon Musk is making it a two-tier space, where only those who pay have a say, whether or not they produce information of general interest”, criticized the secretary general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Christophe Deloire, interviewed by AFP.
“This contributes to the loss of confidence, for an increase in income which will probably not happen”, estimates for his part Mr. Greengart.
Asked by AFP, the press service of Twitter only returned by email the automatic response provided, an emoji in the shape of a pile of excrement.