O twitter released the new version of its subscription service. As disclosed by Elon Musk, the boss of the social network, the Twitter Blue will cost $7.99. However, the subscription is only available for iOS and in countries that already have the service — and for accounts created before November 9th.
The new Twitter Blue already offers the verification seal to its subscribers. In fact, from the news promised by Musk, this is the only one that was working — the others will be released later. However, the Subscription sale has been suspended for new accounts🇧🇷 the reason is what people were using the seal to impersonate others.
Twitter Blue brings verified badge and issue
As almost everyone has debated and opined over the past few years, selling a verified badge would be one more factor in amplifying misinformation and fake accounts on the platform. Shortly after the release of the new Twitter Blue, the subscription was suspended because users were buying the service to earn the badge and pretend to be official accounts.
Now, accounts created after November 9th are temporarily suspended to subscribe to Twitter Blue. In one of the reported cases, a fake of basketball player Lebron James published that he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers. The fake account used @KINGJamez as the username. The real player (who will remain in the Lakers) uses @Kingjames, with an “S” at the end and no capitals in “King”.
Another account pretended to be Nintendo United States and posted a photo of Mario showing his middle finger. It’s looking like it was better to keep two checked than “pay to verify” — better, keep it as it always was. It was less confusing.
The fake account impersonating Lebron James was suspended, but the two cases cited and more involving “trolling” of player changes show that buying a stamp can harm fans who just want to know what their idols are doing. Using two large Brazilian football fans as an example, imagine the confusion that would be a fake Gabigol, with a verified seal, announcing that it is going to Corinthians.
ESPN reporter Joon Lee highlights something important from the cases. Twitter is heavily used by sports fans. In my TCC, which involved the topic of sports journalism, one of the surveys used as a bibliography showed that the social network is the second screen of events.
Musk said he wants users to spend more time on the platform, but “trolls” like this drive audiences away. Whether you’re a fan, music fan or just someone who likes to keep up with influencers.
“Legacy” Verification Seal Remains Problem
By clicking on a verified seal, the user will be able to know if the verification came from subscribing to Twitter Blue or being a remarkable person — in areas such as journalism, government, entertainment, or another category. A good attempt to solve the problem, too bad it continues to fail.
Taking the case of LeBron James, to know if the account was verified by subscribing to Twitter Blue or by the “old system” it is necessary to click to open the account and then on the verified seal to know the origin of the verification. On the internet, two clicks is too much time🇧🇷 The average user, who is more to hang around and may not even know about this feature, will see a verified LeBron account and take the information as true.
Twitter Blue in Brazil for BRL 25.90
The old Twitter Blue was not made available in Brazil, so it never had an official price. However, the APK Games team found that the subscription will cost R$ 25.90. When accessing the Twitter app in the App Store, you can see the shopping list within the app. The first line shows “Twitter Blue (1 Month)” R$25.90. See the screenshot:
In the shopping list within the app, there are also several arrobas of users with the prices of their respective Super Follow/Super Follower. Among them is the account of Brazilian journalist Cristina Tardáguila, based in the United States, and Gary Black, an American investor.
Super Follow is not yet available in Brazil, but tests have already been released to several users. The subscription price for Tardáguila’s Super Follow is R$14.90, while Gary Black’s costs R$24.90.
The listing of values, which even includes a @teslaownersSV with the value of BRL 14.90, looks like a “gambiarra” or some error when uploading the application update. The easiest to imagine is that, in the near future, the section will also show the possible prices of Super Follow, something that Twitter needs to do for using the App Store billing service (that 30% commission from Apple🇧🇷
https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2022/11/10/twitter-blue-e-lancado-com-problemas-e-pode-chegar-ao-brasil-por-r-2590/