Taliban is buying blue ticks on twitter
Elon Musk has made it possible for individuals to purchase the Blue Tick verification badge on Twitter, and reportedly, the Taliban has taken advantage of this by buying some to gain verified status on the platform.
According to a BBC report, some prominent Taliban members subscribed to Twitter Blue and purchased the verification badge. The report stated that at least two Taliban officials and four prominent supporters of the group were displaying the Blue Tick on their profiles. However, the handles are no longer verified and it is not clear what happened, as neither Twitter nor Musk have commented on the issue.
The BBC reported that two individuals, Hedayatullah Hedayat, the head of the Taliban's department for "access to information," and Abdul Haq Hammad, head of the media watchdog at the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, had purchased Twitter's Blue Tick verification badge. Hedayatullah's account had over 187,000 followers, while Abdul Haq Hammad's account had over 170,000 followers. After the reports surfaced, people shared their opinions about it on social media. However, now, none of these handles are verified. It appears that the verification badges have been removed following the significant backlash on the internet and social media.
The value of Twitter's once-coveted Blue Tick has been called into question since Elon Musk's takeover. Previously, the Blue Tick was only given to accounts that were authentic and of public interest. To become verified, a strict policy was in place, requiring applicants to submit documentation to prove their account was eligible for verification by Twitter's team. However, Musk made significant changes by introducing Twitter Blue, a subscription model where anyone could pay a monthly fee of $8 and receive verification. According to Twitter, purchasing the Twitter Blue subscription allows users to receive "priority ranking in search, mentions, and replies."
Twitter has recently introduced a new verification program for organizations to help them stand out and establish credibility on the platform. Formerly known as Twitter Blue, the verification service will initially be rolled out to select companies and will eventually be made available to others. Companies that wish to gain early access to the verification process can apply by filling out a form. Eligible organizations will then be added to a waitlist.
The new verification program for businesses was announced in a recent blog post. When an organization subscribes for verification, they can link multiple "business, brands, or affiliated individuals" to their account. The affiliated accounts will be marked with a badge featuring the parent company's profile picture next to their verified tick mark.
Elon Musk's Twitter has been the subject of much recent news due to the changes introduced by its new owner after he acquired the company in a highly publicized $44 billion deal. Musk has taken drastic measures, including firing employees and top-level executives, and discontinuing various employee benefits, to build a "Twitter 2.0."
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