\n\n“Verification used to be a way for users to know that a profile belonged to the person or organization it purported to be. It was reserved for the accounts that would need such an indicator, including those of famous people, companies, and journalists, who got blue check marks appended to their profiles to make that verification easy for everyone to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has now become a symbol of who is willing to pay $8 a month for \u201cTwitter Blue.\u201d Or, in the case of organizations, a symbol of who is willing to pay at least $1,000 a month.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Musk framed the move as a way to open up Twitter\u2019s blue checks, which to some had become a symbol of unfair and much-desired privilege that was bestowed upon people they didn\u2019t like.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“the core problem remains that Twitter is no longer verifying the identity of users who get a blue check, nor is it a symbol of authenticity. Anyone who has a phone number and a credit card can appear \u201cverified,\u201d though Twitter supposedly vets accounts to ensure they\u2019re not pretending to be someone else when they initially sign up, and temporarily takes their blue check away if they change their names or profile photos.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Twitter began verifying accounts in 2009<\/a> to settle a lawsuit from famous baseball guy Tony La Russa<\/a> over a fake Tony La Russa account. Back then, it was relatively easy<\/a> to squat on a famous person\u2019s name and make a fake account pretending to be them. That\u2019s why Donald Trump had to go with \u201c@realDonaldTrump\u201d when he joined Twitter; someone had already taken<\/a> @donaldtrump and made it a Trump parody account. Tina Fey says she\u2019s never been on Twitter, but a lot of people sure thought @TinaFey (now @NotTinaFey) was her. And then there are the many, many Fake Will Ferrell<\/a> Twitter accounts. That said, like most things Twitter, verification isn\u2019t perfect: Author Cormac McCarthy\u2019s fake account was somehow verified as recently as 2021<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n