Twitter's new paid checkmark system was abused within minutes of going live with trolls impersonating video game companies like Nintendo, Valve, and streaming company Twitch. These accounts were eventually suspended but the chaos they made to the social medial platform showed the possible weakness of Twitter Blue's $8 verification system.
Elon Musk's implementation of a paid verified checkmark through Twitter Blue was intended to be a new revenue stream for Twitter after the tech billionaire acquired the company in a $44 Billion deal. Twitter users with $8 to spend immediately began using Twitter Blue's new paid verification system to impersonate videogame companies, athletes, and other high-profile figures, including Elon Musk himself.
Nintendo was one of the first companies that fell victim to the paid checkmark trolls. The account under the name @nintendoofus, a play on Nintendo of America's real Twitter account, posted a picture of Mario flipping the bird at users who stumbled across the tweet. This was one of the many impersonations that happened in the first day of Twitter Blue's paid checkmark system.
In addition, a Twitter account impersonating Valve tweeted a fake announcement coming from the developer. Under the Twitter handle @valvesoftware, the account announced Ricochet: Neon Prime, with a convincing graphic. Ricochet is a real game made by Valve in 2000 which could have fooled fans of the company that did not verify if the checkmark was real or paid through Twitter Blue. Soon after the announcement tweet went viral, the owner of the account made another tweet denouncing the Twitter Blue paid verification system and spoke of the potential for harm it can do impersonating more important accounts.
There was also an account impersonating Rockstar Games under the name @RockstarGamse that made a fake announcement claiming that Grand Theft Auto 6 footage would be revealed later in November. This tweet didn't manage to get the virility of the others, but it is especially harmful to the brand after the massive GTA 6 leaks that occurred in September.
These accounts were suspended soon after the chaos began but sometimes took two hours for the accounts to lose their verified checkmarks and be issued permanent suspensions. There is also a Twitter account that is impersonating Twitch that made a joke announcement of a very favorable creator revenue split, but the account was riddled with "parody" tags in an attempt to avoid permabans. That seems to be working as the account is still active. Twitter accounts of athletes, sports personalities, pharmaceutical companies, and even Twitter's account have all been impersonated since Twitter Blue Verified Checkmarks went live.
Elon Musk tweeted in the days before that attempts to impersonate people or companies would result in permanent bans. This was after a wave of impersonators attempted to troll Twitter's new owner and test his limits for jokes in the name of free speech. The Twitter Blue checkmark fiasco has left users uneasy about the future of the platform and questioning the value of the Verified check. Companies like GM, Ford, and Chipotle have suspended advertising on Twitter, and journalists across disciplines worry about impersonators spreading misinformation using their names or the publications they work for.
Source: Kotaku