Twitter paused allowing people to sign up for its paid subscription feature that grants blue check marks amid a flood of fake accounts, just days after it launched the controversial feature.
Twitter paused allowing people to sign up for its paid subscription feature that grants blue check marks amid a flood of fake accounts, just days after it launched the controversial feature.
A note to Twitter employees sent Thursday night said it was decided to temporarily disable sign-ups for Twitter Blue, its new $7.99 offering that allows accounts to receive a blue check mark. The pause was intended to “help address impersonation issues,” according to the note, which was viewed by The Washington Post.
A number of new accounts sporting a blue check mark surfaced this week impersonating politicians, celebrities and brands — including President Biden — after the new program launched on Wednesday. It’s part of Elon Musk’s plan to create more streams of revenue following his $44 billion acquisition of the site two weeks ago.
A fake account purporting to be basketball star LeBron James falsely tweeted that the athlete was requesting a trade. Another fake account with a blue check mark pretending to be former president George W. Bush tweeted “I miss killing Iraqis.”
Twitter appears to be playing whack-a-mole with the fake accounts some had been suspended by Friday, but many remained online. The company’s rollout of new features in its subscription Twitter Blue product has been rocky, and by Thursday night many people reported that the option to subscribe to Blue had disappeared from their apps.
Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
