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Musk defends paid Twitter as blue tick ultimatum looms

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Alex Pigman, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Tesla-founder Elon Musk attends a discussion forum at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) Conference, in Stavanger, Norway, 29 August 2022. Carina Johansen, EPA-EFE/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/11/01/elon.jpg"/><figcaption>Tesla-founder Elon Musk attends a discussion forum at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) Conference, in Stavanger, Norway, 29 August 2022. <em>Carina Johansen, EPA-EFE/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>WASHINGTON - Elon Musk on Friday defended his controversial pay model for Twitter, claiming that any social media platform that didn&#x27;t follow suit would fail because they would be swarmed by bots.</p><p>Musk made his prediction on the eve of Twitter&#x27;s April 1 ultimatum that verified accounts with the cherished blue tick that had not forked over cash would lose it.</p><p>&quot;The fundamental challenge here is that it&#x27;s (easy) to create literally 10,000 or 100,000 fake Twitter accounts using just one computer at home and with modern AI (artificial intelligence),&quot; Musk told a question and answer session on Twitter.</p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s the reason for really pressing hard on verified where the verified requires a number from a reputable phone carrier and a credit card,&quot; Musk said.</p><p>&quot;My prediction is that any so-called social media network that doesn&#x27;t do this will fail,&quot; Musk added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/27/23/elon-musk-puts-twitters-value-at-just-20-billion">Elon Musk puts Twitter&#x27;s value at just $20 billion</a></li></ul><p>The change in system puts pressure on companies, journalists and celebrities who used Twitter as their main channel of communication and relied on the blue tick for credibility.</p><p>And it also raises the specter of imposters and jokesters paying for an officially verified, but totally fake account.</p><p>In the US, the subscription plan, known as Twitter Blue, costs $8 a month or $84 a year, or $11 a month if bought through Apple’s app store.</p><p>Since its creation in 2009, the blue tick or checkmark became a signature element that helped the platform become a trusted forum for news makers and campaigners.</p><p>But Musk and his fans said the blue check was decided by fiat in a secretive procedure and called it a symbol of an unfair class system.</p><p>Opening the blue tick to paying subscribers was among the first decisions made by Musk when he took ownership of Twitter last year, but his overhaul backfired.</p><p>Within hours, Twitter was flooded by fake yet verified accounts impersonating celebrities, major companies and even Musk himself.</p><p>Musk swiftly backtracked, but many advertisers fled the site, denying Twitter a major source of income that the CEO is struggling to replace.</p><p>For now, blue checks of celebrities -- including Justin Bieber and his 113 million followers or footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his 108 million -- are tagged on the site as &quot;legacy&quot; accounts.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Will be awful&#x27; -</strong></div><p>The verified account conundrum also involves officials, charities and news media companies.</p><p>Already the White House, which will keep a special designation as a government entity, told employees it would not pay to have its staff&#x27;s official Twitter profiles keep the blue tick, Axios reported.</p><p>News media companies, firms and charities already lost their blue tick and were tagged as verified business accounts under Musk&#x27;s new system.</p><p>According to Twitter&#x27;s website, these cost a hefty fee of $1,000 a month in the United States, and $50 for each additional affiliated account.</p><p>&quot;This will be awful for those who can’t afford the new fees,&quot; said Andrew Stroehlein, European Media Director of Human Rights Watch, who said his group would not pay for the privilege.</p><p>&quot;It will damage the effectiveness of local activists, including human rights activists, who have long used Twitter for grassroots organizing,&quot; he added in a blog post.</p><p>The New York Times said it will not pay for a verified business account and that it would only subscribe for a blue tick for journalists when essential for reporting needs.</p><p>The &quot;pay to play&quot; verification model is also being tested by Twitter rival Facebook in Australia and New Zealand, which has also drawn major criticism.</p><p>Much is riding on Musk&#x27;s ability to find a business model for Twitter.</p><p>Last week Musk put the current value of Twitter at $20 billion, less than half the $44 billion he paid for the social media platform just five months ago.</p><p>arp/tjj</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVE</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pjtSLAPhptc?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

In the US, the subscription plan, known as Twitter Blue, costs $8 a month or $84 a year, or $11 a month if bought through Apple’s app store.

Musk defends paid Twitter as blue tick ultimatum looms

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Musk defends paid Twitter as blue tick ultimatum looms

Alex Pigman,

Agence France-Presse

Published Apr 01, 2023 09:36 AM PHT

|

Updated Apr 01, 2023 09:45 AM PHT

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