WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:02.640
- Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, wanted

2
00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:05.700
to level the field with its
Twitter Verified System.

3
00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:07.890
But all these seem to accomplish thus far

4
00:00:07.890 --> 00:00:11.520
is confuse its current users
and allow scammers, spammers,

5
00:00:11.520 --> 00:00:14.382
and trolls the opportunity
to pretend to be

6
00:00:14.382 --> 00:00:15.990
whoever they wanna be.

7
00:00:15.990 --> 00:00:19.320
As the company rolled out its
$8 paid verification system

8
00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:22.050
for iOS users going into Thursday,

9
00:00:22.050 --> 00:00:25.110
they were almost immediately
inundated with fake accounts

10
00:00:25.110 --> 00:00:27.960
changing their names and
paying for the blue check mark.

11
00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:29.550
There are multiple accounts pretending

12
00:00:29.550 --> 00:00:30.990
to be Twitter's official account

13
00:00:30.990 --> 00:00:32.970
as well as Elon Musk himself.

14
00:00:32.970 --> 00:00:34.470
Using faked Twitter handles,

15
00:00:34.470 --> 00:00:37.470
they tried to shill pretty
obvious crypto scams

16
00:00:37.470 --> 00:00:39.420
or posted malicious links.

17
00:00:39.420 --> 00:00:41.760
Those accounts have since been taken down.

18
00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:44.190
At the same time, another
account of pretending

19
00:00:44.190 --> 00:00:47.250
to be Nintendo of America
puts in an image of Mario

20
00:00:47.250 --> 00:00:50.040
flipping the bird at
everybody on the Bluebird app.

21
00:00:50.040 --> 00:00:52.470
That image of the impolite
plumber wasn't taken down

22
00:00:52.470 --> 00:00:55.680
until two hours later
according to some reports.

23
00:00:55.680 --> 00:00:58.350
Other accounts pretended
to be President Joe Biden

24
00:00:58.350 --> 00:01:01.830
doing very non-PG things
to his own genitals.

25
00:01:01.830 --> 00:01:04.200
Of course, Musk thought
this was funny enough

26
00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:07.868
to react to it cuz apparently
flushing $44 billion

27
00:01:07.868 --> 00:01:10.470
down the toilet is funny enough joke

28
00:01:10.470 --> 00:01:12.060
to the multi-billionaire.

29
00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:14.610
Other accounts did offer us
a bit of wish fulfillment

30
00:01:14.610 --> 00:01:18.090
such as a fake verified Dave
Chappelle finally apologizing

31
00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:21.120
for the whole making fun
of trans people thing.

32
00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:23.220
Yet all this chaos has only added

33
00:01:23.220 --> 00:01:25.650
to the confusion surrounding verification.

34
00:01:25.650 --> 00:01:28.800
Earlier this week, the platform
introduced gray check marks

35
00:01:28.800 --> 00:01:30.720
that they quickly nixed.

36
00:01:30.720 --> 00:01:33.030
Now you have to click on a
check mark to get a sense

37
00:01:33.030 --> 00:01:35.880
if it's a paid user or
an official account.

38
00:01:35.880 --> 00:01:37.800
Things have moved so fast over at Twitter

39
00:01:37.800 --> 00:01:40.830
that we have no idea where
verification might go next.

40
00:01:40.830 --> 00:01:43.560
The company's had to
stop any verified account

41
00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:45.030
from changing their handles

42
00:01:45.030 --> 00:01:46.770
and has stopped any newly-made account

43
00:01:46.770 --> 00:01:49.140
from buying verification altogether.

44
00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:50.307
How long will that stick?

45
00:01:50.307 --> 00:01:52.200
We honestly have no idea.

46
00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:54.930
These bandaid patches won't
address the real problem

47
00:01:54.930 --> 00:01:56.310
with paid verification.

48
00:01:56.310 --> 00:01:58.380
There are many accounts
known for spreading hate

49
00:01:58.380 --> 00:02:01.470
and disinformation that
can now become verified.

50
00:02:01.470 --> 00:02:03.240
On the surface, it
gives malicious accounts

51
00:02:03.240 --> 00:02:05.640
a sense of legitimacy, but beyond it,

52
00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:07.410
the blue check mark will
help these platforms

53
00:02:07.410 --> 00:02:09.210
promote their message even further.

54
00:02:09.210 --> 00:02:12.540
Twitter wants to expand
verified notifications,

55
00:02:12.540 --> 00:02:15.480
meaning these hard-line
accounts can pay $8 a month

56
00:02:15.480 --> 00:02:17.970
to boost their message even
further among the people

57
00:02:17.970 --> 00:02:18.990
who follow them.

58
00:02:18.990 --> 00:02:23.610
I mean, things are changing
very quickly and as of now,

59
00:02:23.610 --> 00:02:25.650
things are still in a state of flux.

60
00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:28.170
Time will tell if Musk and
all the folks left at Twitter

61
00:02:28.170 --> 00:02:29.700
can put things back together

62
00:02:29.700 --> 00:02:32.220
after they Humpty Dumpty-ed
their whole business.

63
00:02:32.220 --> 00:02:34.800
It's Elon's Town Hall and we're all living

64
00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.757
in its cramped halls
and ever shifting walls.

65
00:02:37.757 --> 00:02:40.650
(dramatic music)

66
00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:43.353
Check out more videos here on gizmodo.com.