Twitter Blue sign ups disappear from app after fake account chaos

Options for Twitter users to sign up for a subscription that allowed them to pay for a verified blue check mark next to their account disappeared from the app by Friday morning, following a day of chaos on Twitter with user’s posing as brands and public figures. 

The paid check mark, which did not require users to actually verify their identities, was part of services offered to user’s under Twitter Blue for $7.99 in a change made by new CEO Elon Musk. 

Experts warned when Musk announced plans to let users pay for check marks that it could undermine credibility on the platform by making it difficult to confirm if verified accounts are legitimate. When the feature launched Thursday, the chaos they warned about ensued. 

Accounts popped up impersonating public figures ranging from the NBA’s LeBron James to former President George W. Bush. Others posed as companies, including pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly with a tweet causing confusion over an over for free insulin. The company posted a tweet apologizing about the “misleading message” from the fake account, and the impersonating account was suspended. 

A note was sent to Twitter employees Thursday night saying the sign-ups would be temporarily disabled in an effort to “help address impersonation issues,” The Washington Post reported.

Musk tweeted Thursday that going forward “accounts engaged in parody must include ‘parody’ in their name, not just in bio.”

“To be more precise, accounts doing parody impersonations. Basically, tricking people is not ok,” he said. 

It is not clear when the paid feature will return to Twitter. A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. 

It had only launched on the Twitter iOS app for the time being. Friday morning the option to subscribe was not available on the app version. On the web browser version of Twitter, the platform still offered Twitter Blue as an option and still advertised it as available only by the iOS app. 

Earlier this week, Twitter began rolling out supplementary gray “official” labels that aimed to distinguish between accounts that are verified for being notable figures or companies from accounts verified because a user paid.

The labels were pulled after Musk said he “killed” them, but a Twitter employee indicated the labels would return. On Friday, some accounts had the gray labels visible on their accounts again. For example, the “official” label was placed on the account for Walt Disney World as of Friday morning. 

Musk’s changes to Twitter come as he seeks to make the company profitable after his $44 billion acquisition that closed at the end of last month. Amid the volatile situation, Musk reportedly cut the majority of staff and other high profile employees left this week.

The majority of Twitter’s revenue historically has come from advertising. Amid Musk’s volatile take over, companies have paused advertising on the platform. Musk sought to appease concerns advertisers had during an open discussion on Twitter’s audio feature, Spaces, earlier this week. 

Musk is also facing scrutiny from the federal government over his deal. A spokesperson for the Federal Trade Commission said the agency is “tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern.”

President Biden on Wednesday said Musk’s deal, which included funding from Audi Arabian investors, is “worthy of being looked at.” 

Updated 1:53 p.m.