In a move that has raised eyebrows in the media industry, Twitter has removed labels identifying global media organizations as government-funded or state-affiliated, according to a report by AP.
This decision came after the platform began removing blue verification checkmarks from accounts that do not pay a monthly fee.
This photo illustration taken on December 18, 2022 in Los Angeles shows a phone displaying Elon Musk's Twitter page where he is conducting a survey about his future as the head of the company. - Twitter announced on December 18 it would no longer allow users to promote their accounts on several rival social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, but the site's mercurial owner Elon Musk appeared to backtrack on the new policy just hours later.
Government-funded Labels Gone
Last week, National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States announced that it would no longer use Twitter after its main account was designated state-affiliated media.
But after Twitter changed the label to "government-funded media," NPR believed that the label was still misleading, as it only relies on the government for a small portion of its funding. Similarly, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) also exited the platform after receiving the label.
On Friday, CBC's government-funded label disappeared along with state-affiliated tags on media accounts such as Sputnik and RT in Russia and Xinhua in China.
Previously, Twitter's blue verification checkmarks were used to confirm an account's authenticity on the platform. However, on Thursday, many high-profile users, including celebrities like Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, and former President Donald Trump, lost their blue checks under Twitter's new policy.
The new verification system requires individual web users to pay $8 per month, while organizations must pay a starting price of $1,000 monthly, plus $50 monthly for each affiliate or employee account.
While some users are hesitant to pay for verification, others worry that the removal of the blue checkmarks could lead to the spread of false information from unverified sources.
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Agencies, Non-profits Lose the Checks
Additionally, many government agencies, non-profits, and public-service accounts worldwide also lost their blue checks on Thursday, further raising concerns about the accuracy and reliability of information shared on the platform.
Although Twitter continues to provide gold checks for "verified organizations" and gray checks for government organizations and their affiliates, the process of distributing these checks is still not fully understood.
Elon Musk's arrival on Twitter had a significant impact on the social media platform that had been operating smoothly until the billionaire disrupted their plans.
Last year, Twitter introduced its subscription-based service, Twitter Blue, which promised to provide verified checkmarks to anyone who could afford it. This was one of the most significant announcements made by the company.
Twitter has faced a barrage of criticism from notable personalities across different domains for its decision to revoke the highly sought-after blue checkmarks from user profiles.
However, Twitter is steadfast in its approach and has urged users to pay a small fee ranging from $8 to $11 and verify their phone numbers to regain their verified status.
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