Twitter is now in the Elon Musk era.
As of this writing, it’s been 10 days since Musk, best known for founding Tesla and Starlink, has taken over control of the social media platform, at a cost of $44 billion.
On paper, Musk’s plans for the social media platform are noble – promote free speech and crack down on “spambots” (fake accounts that promote and create posts to push an agenda).
There are concerns that Musk promoting free speech will lead to an increase in misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and harassment.
This fear only increased with Musk’s announcement last week of his intentions to begin charging $8 per month for a Twitter Blue account. In return for paying $8 per month, the use would receive the elusive blue checkmark beside their name.
For those who are not active on social media, the blue checkmark means you are a “verified” user – that your account is of public interest and is authentic. Currently this verified status is free, and users must meet a list of requirements to become verified.
According to Twitter.com, a journalist, for example, needs to be employed by a verified news organization in a public-facing reporting role, have a Twitter account that refers directly to the name and website of the news organization they work for, and must satisfy criteria set out by Twitter that denotes an “active” account. The journalist may also have to provide proof that their Twitter handle is listed on the official company website, provide links to articles with their byline from the past six months, provide government-issued ID to verify their identity, and other criteria.
These criteria are set out to make sure that journalists from reputable news agencies receive the blue checkmark, if they apply, which in turns is supposed to give Twitter users the comfort in knowing that information shared by this person is well-researched, high-quality journalism.
Musk, in a Tweet on Nov. 6, said, “Twitter needs to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world. That’s our mission.”
Oddly enough, if Musk has his way – and he will, as the majority shareholder of the company – anyone from a legitimate news organization to Joe Blow from Idaho will be able to get a blue checkmark next to their name for $8 per month.
Yes, $96 a year will make someone “reputable” on Twitter.
In this writer’s opinion – and I’ll be honest, I do not have one of those blue checkmarks next to my name on social media – the blue checkmark is worth as much as what you pay for a Twitter account.
For those that don’t know, you pay $0.
There are numerous instances of these verified accounts posting something – breaking news, a trade in sports, a “fact” about a topic – were proven to be false or incorrect shortly afterwards. Heck, even Musk’s blue checkmark plan backfired over the weekend, where a number of celebrities changed their names and profile pictures to Elon Musk and began tweeting and retweeting pro-Democratic posts.
In response, Musk stated that anyone engaging in “impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended” and that a name change on Twitter will “cause temporary loss of verified checkmark.”
Today, people put far too much stock in the blue checkmark.
If people put as much time and effort into reading various news outlets – local, national, international – as they do reading what someone with a blue checkmark posted, I feel like our world would be in a much better place.
With that said, I believe social media has a place in our society. It’s a great way for people to stay connected with family and friends, or to share items of public interest quickly (missing persons, amber alerts, etc.) Is it the go-to place to get news and information? I don’t believe so.
If you are reading a newspaper, such as this one, you are on the right track. I would encourage you to explore all forms of media – newspapers, radio, television, magazines – to obtain your information.
And use that $8 a month that Elon wants for the bluecheck mark to subscribe to your favourite media outlet – you’ll get a better return on your investment.
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Mike Wilson is the editor of Midwestern Newspapers. For more information about subscribing to this newspaper, or to send comments or feedback on this column or any article in the newspaper, email mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com.
