Twitter Will Reportedly Wait Until After Midterms To Offer Verification Badges For A Fee

Topline

Twitter–which is facing upheaval after billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover last week–will not roll out its controversial new $7.99-per-month verification system until after Tuesday’s midterm elections, according to the New York Times, after critics raised concerns some people could use the pay-for-play badges to spread misinformation.

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, participates in a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center … [+] on May 27, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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Key Facts

In an internal Slack post seen by the New York Times, an unnamed manager working on the new verification launch told employees Sunday that “we’ve made the decision to move the launch of this release to Nov. 9, after the election.”

Two people with knowledge of the decision confirmed the company’s plans to delay the new verification system, according to the Times.

Since the company announced plans to switch Twitter’s verification system to a $7.99 monthly subscription model to generate much-needed revenue, many employees and users have spoken out about concerns of misinformation and election interference.

Twitter did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment (on Friday, Twitter began mass layoffs that affected half of the company’s 7,500-person workforce, including many of its public relations employees).

Tangent

On Saturday, Twitter announced the paid verification system is now part of Twitter Blue, the platform’s subscription service. Users willing to shell out $7.99 a month for verification checkmarks–which were previously given out for free and largely reserved for celebrities, politicians, companies and news outlets–will also be able to post longer videos that have their posts prioritized in replies, mentions and searches, the company said. Musk was reportedly mulling over charging $20 per month for the subscription. In a Twitter interaction between Musk and horror author Stephen King (an avid Twitter user who lamented the idea) Musk said: “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”

Big Number

$44 billion. That’s how much Musk paid for Twitter. During a talk at the Baron Investment Conference last week, Musk said the company was a “poorly managed business” he bought “on the basis of what it could become,” though he acknowledged he tried to back out of the deal. Elon said Twitter, which is bleeding revenue as advertisers drop platform spending, has done its “absolute best to appease” brands, saying “nothing has worked.”

Our Valuation

We estimate Musk is worth $208.3 billion, making him the wealthiest person on the planet.

Key Background

In April, Musk acquired a 9% stake in Twitter and announced weeks later he wanted to purchase the company. He changed course in July, saying he was concerned about the number of fake accounts on the platform, but Twitter launched a lawsuit to force Musk to continue the acquisition, leading Musk to eventually agree to buy the company. His stated plans for Twitter have varied over the last few months, but he has proposed charging users for certain features, loosening the site’s moderation rules and making ads more precisely targeted.