Topline
Twitter accounts that impersonate other individuals will be permanently banned from the platform, the social media platform’s new owner Elon Musk announced on Sunday night after several verified users parodied the billionaire by using his display image and name on their accounts.
Elon Musk warned that impersonator accounts will be permanently banned from Twitter.
Key Facts
In a series of tweets Musk said impersonator accounts that are not clearly labeled as “parody” will be permanently suspended from the platform.
Musk warned that impersonators will have their accounts suspended immediately without any warning—unlike earlier instances—as the platform rolls out paid verified badges for all users as part of the update Twitter Blue service.
Musk added that this policy on impersonators is one of the conditions Twitter Blue subscribers will have to agree to and any account name changes will lead to a temporary loss of the verified badge.
Comedians Kathy Griffin, Sarah Silverman and actress Valerie Bertinelli were among several verified Twitter users who changed their display image and name to match Elon Musk and then mocked the billionaire in a series of tweets impersonating him.
Musk continued to defend the social media platform’s plans to sell verified badges by saying it will “democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people.”
Crucial Quote
Several users on Twitter accused Musk of engaging in hypocrisy when it came to free speech after several verified accounts parodying were suspended. Musk responded to this by tweeting: “My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk.”
Key Background
Last week, Musk unveiled Twitter’s plans to charge $7.99 a month for the verified badge as part of its revamped Twitter Blue subscription. Musk and his colleagues tried to present this as an effort to revamp a broken system and open the coveted blue tick badge to all Twitter users. But critics pointed out that under the new system Twitter will actually have no verification process in place to authenticate the identities of users paying for Twitter Blue, which could allow them to impersonate public figures or other private individuals. To partly alleviate this concern Twitter reportedly plans to wait until after the midterm elections to rollout verified badges for Twitter Blue users.
Tangent
After talking about impersonator accounts and defending pay-for-play verified badges, Musk tweeted: “Twitter needs to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world. That’s our mission.” This tweet drew a rare rebuke from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey who responded “accurate to who?” Dorsey has largely remained silent about Musk’s handling of the company outside of expressing remorse about the recent mass layoffs at the company. In response, Musk said the accuracy of a tweet would be judged by Twitter users through the “Community Notes” feature formerly known as “Birdwatch.” After this the exchange veered into a discussion over the name of the feature with Dorsey saying he preferred Birdwatch, Musk said gave him “the creeps.”
Further Reading
Twitter Will Reportedly Wait Until After Midterms To Offer Verification Badges For A Fee (Forbes)
Elon Musk’s response to fake verified Elon Twitter accounts: a new permanent ban policy for impersonation (The Verge)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/11/07/musk-warns-twitter-will-permanently-ban-impersonators-after-getting-parodied-by-verified-users/