Twitter today reinstated the 'official' badge for high-profile accounts to combat the growing number of accounts impersonating major brands. The micro-blogging platform recently introduced a service where any user can pay $8 and get a verified badge next to their name. This has resulted in chaos, with several users creating fake accounts of famous personalities. Even Jesus has a 'verified' Twitter account now.
One account claiming to be Nintendo Inc. posted an image of Super Mario holding up a middle finger, while another posing as pharma giant Eli Lilly tweeted that insulin was now free — forcing the company to issue an apology. A purported Tesla account joked about the carmaker's safety record.
This has resulted in the company bringing back the 'official' tag, which it had discarded within hours of launch on Wednesday. “To combat impersonation, we've added an ‘Official' label to some accounts,” Twitter Support tweeted today.
Twitter's new owner Elon Musk, though has another solution. "Going forward, accounts engaged in parody must include “parody” in their name, not just in bio," he tweeted.
"To be more precise, accounts doing parody impersonations. Basically, tricking people is not ok," Musk clarified.
The world's richest man, who acquired Twitter last month for $44 billion, is facing a slew of challenges as top-advertisers pull back from the platform amid concern over the company's ability to tackle impostors and hate speech. Musk, who has also saw resignations among his leadership team, said this week in his first address to employees that the company could face bankruptcy.
