Tag: Twitter

Mocking New Verification Process, Fake Verified Twitter Profiles Of George W Bush, Tony Blair Tweeted Controversial Tweets

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Verified Twitter accounts with blue check marks bearing the profile names of former President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair reminisced about the Iraq War on Wednesday.
Twitter Screenshot
A tweet screenshot that is viral on Twitter shows George W. Bush tweeting, “I miss killing Iraqis,” while Tony Blair quotes him and writes, “Same tbh.” But the Twitter accounts are not actually managed by Bush and Blair and are fake, according to reports.
After Twitter changed its verification process and eligibility, now everyone can get the blue checkmark after paying monthly fees as a subscription to Twitter Blue. This change is criticised by the majority of people across the world.
To mock the change in verification, two anonymous accounts that used the names of George W. Bush and Tony Blair tweeted the controversial tweet, the reports say.
In contrast, it was one or more anonymous users who were mocking the upgraded verification process introduced by Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, and who charge $8 per month. They created user identities that resembled those of Bush and Blair before enrolling in the premium system to obtain the blue check mark.
Their conversation might have appeared genuine to a casual observer.
As later explained by the fake Bush profile:
Twitter screenshot
“Y’all are missing the point about the $8. “It’s a small price to make this app completely unusable, and I’m assuming he is going to quickly learn we can get refunds from the credit cards we used if he suspends us prior to a month.”

Critics fear that the new verification process will make it simpler to impersonate others and facilitate the spreading of false information, especially in the case of public figures who choose not to pay the monthly charge.
Musk has vowed to suspend profiles that impersonate others.
Within hours following the posts, Twitter deleted both fake accounts.

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November 10, 2022
Twitter Adds ‘official’ Label For Selected Verified Accounts Including PM Modi, The Wire, More

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As Twitter debuts its new $8 Twitter Blue service, it will designate some verified accounts as “official”, Esther Crawford, the company’s early stage products executive, said on Tuesday.
“Accounts that will receive [the label] include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures,” Crawford tweeted.
“Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘Official’ label and the label is not available for purchase.”
Crawford said that users’ identities will not be verified using identification cards or other materials through the updated Twitter Blue subscription programme, which will let paid customers have their accounts verified with a blue checkmark.
The disclosure is the most recent development as Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk, explains its ambitions for verification on the network.
On November 1, Musk said Twitter would start giving blue checkmarks, which were intended to identify genuine and influential users, to Blue subscribers. Blue is the platform’s premium service.
“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk wrote.
The redesigned premium service appeared to have opened momentarily over the weekend, as the social media company stated in an update for Apple iOS devices on Saturday that anyone who “signs up now” to its premium “Twitter Blue” service will receive a blue tick. In addition, longer movies will be able to be posted and priority ranking for platform-posted material are among the additional features that were promised as part of the premium service makeover.

Fake accounts for government officials are a recurring issue for Twitter globally. According to a source with knowledge of the situation who spoke to Reuters, the company’s policy executives pushed for the new “official” label because they were deeply concerned that international governments would not likely and would not be ready to pay for verified check marks.
Musk is moving to take control of the platform’s operations, and the adjustments to the Blue programme are only one of many moving components. There were rumours that Twitter had urged “dozens” of individuals to return to work after cutting off half of its global workforce the previous week.
In India, various individuals and organisations got official label which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The Wire and more.

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November 9, 2022
Big business is taking over the media By Justice Markandey Katju

Rahul Gandhi has congratulated Elon Musk on his taking over Twitter, and has asked that the Opposition’s voice in India be not stifled.
What Rahul, wittingly or unwittingly, overlooks is that the big business which is taking over the media all over the world, looks only at its own interests, not the interests of others.
The take over of Twitter by Elon Musk in America is akin to the take over of CBN IBN by Mukesh Ambani, or of NDTV by Gautam Adani in India.
When I was Chairman of the Press Council of India, I came to know that the owner of one of the big Hindi newspapers, having perhaps the largest circulation in India, also owns about 50 other businesses e.g. mining, coal, iron&steel, real estate, etc. The newspaper was only a small business compared to his other businesses.
Why then was he interested in publishing the newspaper ? It was obviously to help his other businesses, e.g. by publishing something favourable to a Minister, who in return would help him in his other businesses.
Historically, the media arose in the 18th century in Europe as an organ of the people against feudal oppression. At that time all the organs of power were in the hands of feudal authorities, kings, aristocrats, etc. Hence the people had to create new organs which would serve their interests. The media ( which was then print media mainly in the form of leaflets, pamphlets, etc, not regular daily newspapers ) was one of the main organs created by the people for waging their struggle against feudalism, and it was used by great writers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Thomas Paine, Junius, etc. The media then represented the voice of the future, as contrasted to the feudal state organs, which only wanted to preserve the status quo.
Later, the role of the media changed. It was taken over by businessmen, and stopped representing the people. However, it still fulfilled a useful purpose by conveying news truthfully to the people. In India, great journalists like Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Nikhil Chakrabarty, etc fulfilled this role, like William Lloyd Garrison, Edward Murrow, and Walter Cronkite in America.
Now the wheel has turned totally around. Now the worldwide trend is to totally emasculate the media, deprive it of whatever freedom it had, and make it an organ dedicated solely to serving the commercial interests of the proprietor.
This trend is most visible in Indian television today, which has turned largely into what is called euphemistically as ‘godi media’. Now all pretences of conveying the truth have been dropped, and instead one hears only a single refrain.

Rahul Gandhi’s message is only wishful thinking, and Elon Musk is unlikely to pay any heed to it. He has invested 43 billion dollars in buying Twitter, and will only be interested in having good returns from this huge investment.
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India. Author can be reached at justicekatju@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

October 31, 2022