Elon Musk on Sunday mocked US Senator Ed Markey after he shot a letter to the new Twitter CEO, slamming him for launching an $8 Blue service with verification.
In his letter to Musk, Markey, Senator for the state of Massachusetts, wrote that “a Washington Post reporter easily created a fake Twitter account in my name, and by paying $8 was also able to obtain Twitter’s blue checkmark, signifying that Twitter had ‘verified’ the account was indeed that of a sitting US Senator”.
To which, Musk replied on Twitter: “Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?”
Twitter has paused its controversial Blue service after several brands and high-profile people complained that there were fake accounts with verified tags impersonating them, as anyone can get a Blue badge.
Markey said that “apparently, due to Twitter’s lax verification practices and apparent need for cash, anyone could pay $8 and impersonate someone on your platform”.
“Selling the truth is dangerous and unacceptable. Twitter must explain how this happened and how it will prevent it from happening again,” the Senator wrote to Musk.
He said that safeguards such as Twitter’s blue checkmark once allowed users to be smart, critical consumers of news and information in Twitter’s global town square.
“But your Twitter takeover, rapid and haphazard imposition of platform changes, removal of safeguards against disinformation, and firing of large numbers of Twitter employees have accelerated Twitter’s descent into the Wild,” the Senator said.
