The Musk/Twitter drama seems never-ending. The controversial billionaire’s much-covered takeover of the platform has been widely documented and scrutinized, with recent reports of large-scale job cuts and a mass exodus of senior staff one of the latest twists in the tale.
Musk’s plan to introduce widespread, purchasable verification checkmarks with an $8 Twitter Blue subscription was met with severe backlash. Many experts predicted it could have far-reaching implications and significantly erode trust and reliability on the platform.
The option to purchase a Twitter Blue subscription and a verification checkmark was rolled out last week, with iOS users able to access the option through their menu bar. However, trolls and tricksters soon leaped on the feature and used it to imitate famous celebrities and brands, posting fake tweets that ranged from hilarious to horrifying.
In what appeared to be an act of desperation, Twitter soon pulled the feature entirely, reportedly to the widespread abuse. As this was one of Musk’s primary plans to make the platform profitable, this would seem to be a major setback and will only work to add to his money woes.
Musk has gone on record to say that Twitter is in a dire financial state, with his decision to cut large numbers of staff due to the platform supposedly losing upwards of $4 million per day at the time of his takeover.
