Twitter's Blue Tick Used To Promote Fake Accounts

Twitter recently released Twitter Blue and almost immediately, users started taking advantage of the new tool. Accounts were created impersonating politicians including President Biden and celebrities, as well as other notable people. Several also surfaced purporting to be brands, announcing fake news.

Now the social media platform’s new ‘Blue’ subscription service appears to have been paused for new users, after many fake accounts with blue ticks were launched, impersonating famous people and companies.

Shortly after, the company's share price fell 5% on the New York Stock Exchange, with many drawing a link between the false tweet and the fall in share price. The service was brought in by its new owner, Elon Musk, to  replace the old system whereby users had to undergo a verification process to prove they were who they say they are, in order to obtain a blue tick.

In one example, parody accounts of former British and American leaders, Tony Blair and George W. Bush, were created with the blue tick, making crass jokes about the decision to go to war in Iraq. Even Twitter itself wasn’t spared from the wave of jokes. It was impersonated, with a tweet announcing that Twitter Blue would now be free, which was fake.

 Nintendo, Lockheed Martin, Musk’s own Tesla and SpaceX were also impersonated as well as the accounts of various professional sports figures. Users have even been parodying Pope Francis to and the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co was forced to apologise after an impostor account tweeted that insulin was free.

For advertisers who have put their business in Twitter on hold, the fake accounts could be the last straw as Musk’s rocky run atop the platform, laying off half the workforce and triggering high-profile departures, raises questions about its survivability.

While parody accounts are nothing new on the platform, having blue ticks next to their names certainly is. Previously only the genuine person or company would have had the mark, making it easier to distinguish who is a parody and who isn’t. In response, Musk has said from now on parody accounts must clearly state what they are in their titles, and not just in their bios.

There are fears that harmful fake news and not just comedic impersonations, could also spiral out of control under the new system.

As Twitter has hundreds of millions of active users, with many using the site as their principal source of news and information, fake news could spread fast.

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