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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Blue checkmarks for sale

Blue checkmarks for sale

Published Apr 21, 2023 04:13 pm

HOTSPOT


Twitter removed en masse on Friday the blue checkmarks for organizations, celebrities, personalities and journalists which were verified under its "legacy" verification process. By "legacy," we mean the time before Elon Musk bought Twitter.
The blue checkmarks meant the accounts were real, and belonged to their owners. It helped a lot in marking reliable or credible news and commentary, business announcements, celebrity events, official state statements, and so on.
Former Vice President Leni Robredo,   senatorial and partylist candidates in the last elections, journalists from across the industry, stars in entertainment and other legacy verified users have lost the blue checkmarks in their Twitter accounts.
Under Musk, those who wish to get a blue checkmark would have to pay monthly fees or about $100 annually.
If you have the money and you have a mobile number for verification purposes, you could get a blue checkmark.
There's also a gold checkmark for organizations and businesses willing to pay $1,000 for the badge. Those with gold checkmarks can share the privilege to so-called affiliates, but only if they're willing to pay Twitter more money.
Government and international multilateral government organizations get a gray checkmark.
There's outrage over Twitter's move to commercialize (read: sell) the blue checkmarks.
With Twitter Blue, the blue checkmark no longer stands for anything except that the user paid for it.
I think it is Twitter and Elon Musk who should pay the legacy verified accounts billions in dollars for their role in turning the platform into what it was prior to Musk's purchase. True, the legacy blue checkmarks protected individuals and organizations  against identity theft and misrepresentation. But on a larger scale, it was their presence, their tweets and interactions, and their pulling power that helped create Twitter. Web 2.0 stood for user-generated content and Twitter became what it is because of its users, especially its legacy verified users. The latter gave Twitter credibility as a trustworthy platform.
Web 2.0 platforms like YouTube and Twitter do not have their own content, with truly miniscule exceptions. An overwhelming majority of videos and tweets are generated by users. Musk cannot deny that his and the industry's valuation of Twitter is not just about its technology, properties and income. It is also about the social capital it has built from the participation  of its users and the credibility shared by governments, organizations, media, entertainment and businesses that joined Twitter.
Many observers have pointed out that the selling of blue checkmarks would enable those who crave for validation in today's dystopian world: the fake news peddlers, troll armies, fascist leaders and groups. They would not hesitate to pay Twitter if it meant obtaining the blue checkmark that previously meant a degree of credibility. It is a credibility they would not have been able to attain under the legacy verification process.
For all his bravado, Musk is unable to or refuses to charge government officials and agencies fees for the gray checkmark. This incentivizes pro-state tweets, including propaganda and disinformation. In openly fascist states, this is tantamount to Twitter giving those governments special treatment they don't deserve.
The satirical The Onion is right. The world did not end this weekend that Twitter took away the legacy blue checkmarks. But something else did. Twitter ended its relationship with legacy verified users.
How this situation would affect the spread of information, we will soon know. How this would impact on Twitter and the worlds of the legacy verified users, only time would tell.
*Follow me on Twitter @tonyocruz*

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