KATE THOMPSON DAVY: Does Twitter’s verification blues mean disaster for the platform?
The texture of Twitter has changed to a more formal, advertising-centric platform — not unlike what happened to Instagram
There’s been much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the digital town square this week — even more than usual. Late on Thursday Twitter began stripping accounts of their marks of verification — the previously aspirational blue ticks — as part of the promised shift to the verification and subscription rules ushered in by CEO Elon Musk.
In the past the blue tick was a freely given authentication tool, something to indicate that you’re dealing with the Twitter account for the real Beyoncé (or her people), rather than a parody or impersonator. And beyond the world of celebrity many organisations, politicians, and journalists were blue ticked...
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