Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, announced on Tuesday that starting April 15, only verified accounts will feature in the platform’s For You recommendations. He provided an explanation for this change in a tweet.
Musk’s tweet read, “Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations. This is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle. Voting in polls will require verification for the same reason.”
Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.
This is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.
Voting in polls will require verification for the same reason.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2023
According to Musk, this measure aims to tackle the growing threat of AI-generated bots. Verification will also be necessary for participating in polls on the platform.
The implementation of this new policy will commence on April 15.
In a related development, Twitter revealed plans to eliminate the blue verification ticks for legacy verified accounts starting April 1. This change will impact accounts that had been verified for their notability before Musk’s acquisition of the platform, unless they subscribe to either Twitter Blue or the Twitter Verified Organizations program, as reported by Variety.
Individual users who wish to retain their verified blue checkmarks must subscribe to Twitter Blue, which costs $8 per month (approximately Rs. 600) via the website and $11 per month (around Rs. 900) through in-app purchases on iOS and Android devices.
Previously, Twitter announced that the Twitter Blue subscription is now available in countries worldwide.
Twitter’s official handle posted, “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue.” However, the platform has yet to clarify how it will handle accounts that have been described as “notable.”
For organizations and brands, Twitter has recently introduced a gold checkmark, while government accounts will now receive a grey checkmark. A subscription to the new Twitter Verified Organizations program in the U.S. will cost $1,000 per month (plus tax), with an additional fee of $50 per month (plus tax) for each associated sub-account.
Twitter introduced verified accounts in 2009 to assist users in distinguishing genuine accounts of public interest, such as those belonging to celebrities and news organizations, from impostor or parody accounts. Prior to Musk’s leadership, there was no charge for account verification.
Following his takeover of the platform, Musk initiated Twitter Blue, which includes the checkmark badge among its premium features, within two weeks.
