New York: Elon Musk has said he will remove Twitter accounts that impersonate others amid a backlash over the billionaire’s decision to offer the platform’s blue check mark to all users for a monthly fee.
Musk said on Sunday that any accounts “engaging in impersonation” would be permanently suspended after some high-profile accounts changed their name to Elon Musk to protest the Tesla CEO’s shake-up of the platform’s verification standards.
“Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” Musk tweeted.
“Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning. This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue.”
Musk tweeted later that “widespread verification” would democratise journalism and give voice to the public.
Over the weekend, celebrities including comedian Kathy Griffin and actor Valerie Bertinelli switched their screen names to Elon Musk in an apparent effort to highlight the dangers of doing away with identity verification.
Under Musk’s Twitter Blue subscription service, users will be able to obtain a blue check mark — without having to prove their identity — for a monthly fee of $7.99.
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