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Both Twitter and the Walt Disney Company have been facing plenty of controversies as of late — and now, the social media titan and the entertainment juggernaut have clashed!
Twitter, under the new leadership of Elon Musk, recently changed its verification process for Twitter accounts (ie. the switch from blue check marks to a variety of colored check marks for verified accounts belonging to celebrities and businesses).
Unfortunately, there has been a hiccup with that new process, and Twitter just verified a fake Disney account!
The “real” Disney Junior is shown below (note the new gold check mark that is on display) but a fake Disney account called @DisneyJuniorUK (screenshotted below) was recently given the same gold check mark verification shortly before Twitter caught on and suspended the misleading account.
The creator of the @DisneyJuniorUK account was just as surprised as everyone else, actually, Tweeting the following: “this isn’t actually real right. someone pinch me or something.”
We think there's a Circle of Life joke in there, but we'll leave it be ✨ @Disneychannel pic.twitter.com/LLIlqF343L
— Disney Junior (@DisneyJunior) April 23, 2023
According to BBC, “this verification is being shared far and wide as an early example of exactly what critics of Elon Musk have warned about – fake accounts getting a badge of authenticity, giving them free rein to share misinformation under a fake veneer of authority.”
“There’s…a responsibility that goes along with running a social network, and so far we are seeing lots of examples of his dream of social media by subscription not quite going to plan,” the BBC article stated.
Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter
Gold check marks for Twitter accounts “are reserved for organisations and businesses who pay $1,000 a month plus additional fees for subsequent accounts”, and only government accounts can show off a grey check mark.
https://twitter.com/starryshkshk/status/1650449748187312128
In an interview with BBC, a social media expert named Matt Navarra apparently said that this new verification system was “possibly Elon’s biggest Twitter mistake so far.”
“He has now created the perfect breeding ground for fake accounts and misinformation, with no real way of keeping its users (or other brands) safe from the mess of his own making,” Navarra declared. “It would not surprise me if we start to see more brands distance themselves from Twitter following this latest blunder.”
Do you still use Twitter, or have you stopped using the social media platform since Elon Musk took over?
