Musk repeatedly jumps: Twitter resumes blue label authentication of millions of fan accounts
CTOnews.com April 24 news, Twitter's blue standard certification system recently triggered a series of disputes. Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk bought the social networking company, he has made several changes to Twitter's authentication policy, causing dissatisfaction among users and the media.
Initially, Musk cancelled almost all accounts that had been certified by Blue Mark before his acquisition, including some politicians, celebrities and media organizations. He said that users need to pay $8 (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 55 yuan) to obtain blue label certification each month, in order to increase Twitter's revenue. Soon after, however, it was revealed that Musk had privately given blue marks to three star Twitter users: actor Tom Cruise, singer Beyonce and writer J K Rowling. The move sparked grievances from other users.
Later, Twitter announced that it had restored blue label certification to many accounts with more than 1 million followers, including Sir Ian McLean, actor of the Lord of the Rings and X-Men films. McLean said on Twitter that he did not pay to regain the blue mark and satirized the "honor".
In addition to the certification policy, Twitter tagged some media accounts earlier this month, classifying them as "government-funded" or "state-affiliated". These accounts include National Public Radio (NPR), the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). However, these labels were quickly removed. According to NPR.com, this is because Musk took the advice of Walter Isaacson, a well-known journalist and biographer of Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Isaacson is currently writing a similar biography of Musk.
As for Musk's repeated changes to Twitter's certification system, some people think that he is experimenting with different business models and social influence, while others think that he is abusing his power and wealth. In any case, Musk has become one of the most controversial and high-profile figures on social networks.
