Confusion among online users spread after Twitter's blue tick verification showed up on various accounts, including various dead celebrities.
The situation is a result of Elon Musk handing out the blue check marks to celebrity users and other accounts that have more than one million followers. Due to this condition, users who do not pay for the service also got the verification mark, including author Neil Gaiman, actor Ron Perlman, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Twitter comic dril.
Twitter's Blue Check Marks on Dead Celebrities' Accounts
In a Twitter post on Sunday afternoon, Gaiman said that he was not subscribed to Twitter Blue despite getting the verification mark. He added that he did not give anyone his phone number, arguing that the situation has become a "muddled place," as per Engadget.
The number of Twitter users who got verification badges in the latest incident is unknown. On Friday, Apr. 22, Musk personally paid for the Twitter Blue subscriptions given to a few celebrities, namely Lebron James and Stephen King.
Some accounts that belonged to dead celebrities, including those for Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, and Anthony Bourdain, who were dead long before Musk took over the social media platform, have had their verification returned.
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When users click on the blue check marks on these accounts, the same message pops up that says they are verified due to being subscribed to Twitter Blue and having had their phone numbers verified.
Twitter users expressed their disappointment and confusion regarding the recent incident, with one wondering what was going on. He questioned whether some dead celebrities, including Michael Jackson, paid the subscription fee from "the other side," according to ABC.net.
Elon Musk's Controversial Week
In response to Musk paying for some celebrities' verification subscriptions, King argued that the billionaire entrepreneur should donate the money to charity. He cited the Prytula Foundation, which currently provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. The best-selling author noted that it was only $8 and that Musk could add more.
I think Mr. Musk should give my blue check to charity. I recommend the Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. It's only $8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could add a bit more.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 22, 2023
The controversy surrounding Twitter and its new policies started after Musk completed his $44 billion takeover in October last year. Since then, he has terminated more than 75% of the social media company's employees and revised how users' timelines worked.
The verification controversy follows a relatively rough week for Musk after his space company, SpaceX, suffered a loss following the explosion of a rocket on Thursday. Regarding his electric vehicle manufacturing company, Tesla, Wednesday's earnings sent the company's stock price plummeting.
Many people close to the SpaceX CEO argued that he had been distracted by Twitter and the changes he has implemented on the social media platform. During an interview earlier this month, he said he had been sleeping on a couch at the company's headquarters, said the Washington Post.
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