Uncertainty surrounds Twitter's future at this early stage of Elon Musk's ownership of the service.
Musk has laid out a plan to profit from platform verification.
As "verified" users were charged a monthly fee, impersonation and false information increased.
Blue Subscription Service on Twitter
When Elon Musk took over Twitter, he announced that the verification process would be changed.
A blue tick will appear next to the usernames of those who have paid the additional $8 per month to access Twitter Blue, the service's premium features.
The firm stated that until now, "[They] used the blue checkmark to indicate active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest that Twitter had independently verified based on certain requirements."
A Chaotic Wave of Impersonation
Paid blue tick accounts impersonating well-known people and companies have caused chaos on Twitter.
Fake "verified" accounts with the names of politicians, celebrities, well-known organizations, and companies began to appear on the platform.
Experts had previously predicted that the new Twitter Blue membership service would be immediately abused by scammers and con men, undermining the platform's credibility.
Viral Controversial Tweets from Fake "Verified" Accounts
"I miss killing Iraqis," a verified account impersonating former U.S. President George W. Bush tweeted.
A fake profile impersonating the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair retweeted with the caption, "Same tbh."
It turned out that these tweets were sent from fake verified accounts, but they still caused quite a stir on the platform.
Similarly, Twitter verification trolls targeted Eli Lilly after a fake verified account tweeted "insulin is free," causing the shares to drop $14 billion.
Later, the company's official Twitter account issued a warning and apologized for the confusion: "We apologize to anyone who received a misleading message from a bogus Lilly account. @LillyPad is our official Twitter handle."
A fake verified account of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that posted controversial tweets has also been found.
The fake account tweeted, "Is your account verified or did you pay $8?"
Twitter Blue Is Coming Back
Twitter temporarily suspended its recently launched $8 blue check subscription service on Friday due to the rise of fake accounts.
A number of users reported that the new subscription option for the blue verification check mark was no longer available.
Elon Musk, the company's owner, stated on Saturday that Twitter Blue would most likely be available "by the end of next week."
Misbar’s Sources
