Musk puts Twitter blue-check relaunch on hold ‘until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation’

Twitter chief Elon Musk announced on Monday night that he would delay the relaunch of his new Twitter blue-check program until the platform develops a strategy with “high confidence of stopping impersonation.”

“Holding off relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation,” wrote Musk.

Musk’s $8 subscription-based verification plan launched earlier this month has come under scrutiny for the ease with which it can be misused to impersonate public figures.

Legitimate users could lose their verified checkmarks because they choose not to pay, allowing other accounts to deceptively use their information under the guise of a blue check.

A range of accounts impersonated public figures and companies after the rollout of Twitter Blue, causing sign-ups for the program to be suspended to “help address impersonation issues.”

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO responded to the chaos by instating a new rule that parody accounts must include the word “parody” in their names rather than just bios.

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

The multibillionaire said on Wednesday that the new version of Blue Verified would be unveiled on Nov. 29, but that start date may be delayed, according to Monday’s announcement.

“Will probably use different color check for organizations than individuals,” Musk revealed Monday night.