United States: Mr. Elon Musk defended his contentious pay model for Twitter on 31st March 2023, asserting that any social media site that didn’t follow it would fail because of a bot invasion.

Mr. Musk made his prediction that on the eve of Twitter’s April 1 ultimatum that verified accounts with the cherished blue tick that had not paid up would lose it. During a Twitter Q&A, Musk stated, “The fundamental challenge here is that it’s (easy) to literally create 10,000 or 100,000 fake Twitter accounts using just one computer at home and with modern AI (artificial intelligence).”

That is the reason for Mr. Musk’s intense push for verification, which calls for a credit card and a phone number from a reputable carrier. Any so-called social media network that doesn’t follow this advice, in Musk’s view, will fail.

Companies, journalists, and celebrities who relied on the blue tick for credibility and used Twitter as their primary communication route is under pressure as a result of the system change. Also, it boosts the possibility of fraudsters and practical jokers paying for an officially verified but completely phoney account.

The Twitter Blue membership plan is available in the US for $8 per month, $84 per year, or $11 per month if purchased through Apple’s app store. Since the platform’s inception in 2009, the blue tick or checkmark has become a recognisable feature that has assisted in making it a reliable arena for newsmakers and activists.

The blue check, according to Mr. Musk and his supporters, was decided by fiat in a covert process and is a representation of an unfair class system. One of his first moves after buying Twitter last year was to make the blue tick available to paid customers, but his revamp backfired.

Within hours, Twitter was inundated with phoney but legitimate accounts pretending to be famous people, well-known brands, and even Mr. Elon Musk. Twitter’s head quickly reversed course, but many advertisers left the platform, depriving Twitter of a significant source of revenue that the CEO is currently working to replace.

For the time being, blue checks of famous people, such as Mr. Justin Bieber with 113 million followers or player Mr. Cristiano Ronaldo with 108 million, are labelled as “legacy” accounts on the site.

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