Twitter will soon add a gray label to some high-profile accounts to indicate that they are authentic. It's the latest twist in new owner Elon Musk's chaotic overhaul of the platform's verification system. The checkmarks will be available at a yet-to-be-announced date for anyone willing to pay a monthly subscription.
"Not all previously verified accounts will get the 'Official' label, and the label is not available for purchase," the official says. Esther Crawford was the subject of a viral photo showing her sleeping on the floor of a Twitter office. The label will be added to "select accounts" when the new system launches.
Election experts reported the spread of new falsehoods across Twitter and other social media services on Tuesday. The U.S. congressional elections posed a fresh test for social media companies, which have struggled to balance free expression with amplifying potentially harmful commentary.
Though company policies enable them to restrict misinformation, enforcement has been spotty.
The company's response time has slowed since layoffs gutted many of the teams responsible for elevating credible information on the social media site. Some Republicans falsely blamed Democrats for voting glitches reported in some places.
"Twitter is hopeless and not responding beyond replying that they are looking into something," advocacy group Common Cause says. The discussion on Twitter on Tuesday focused on real voting problems in states with closely watched races such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
The activity surged after commentators attributed malfunctions to attempts by Democrats to suppress Republican voters.
The falsehoods appeared to originate on the messaging app Telegram before spreading to mainstream social media services. Also drawing attention were posts blatantly warning voters that Wi-Fi networks could enable hacking of voting machines.
At the same time, regulatory filings show that Elon Musk has sold $3.95 billion worth of shares in the electric vehicle maker. Sale's announcement comes days after he closed the $44 billion deal for Twitter Inc. Total Tesla stock sold by Musk has reached about $36 billion since November last year.
He had amassed about $20 billion in cash through multiple stake sales from November last year to August.
Shares of electric car maker Tesla were up by 0.7% in premarket trading after Elon Musk said he would not need to raise another $2–3 billion to fund the purchase of Twitter. The company has lost nearly half its market value ever since Musk bought the social media platform in April.