How Elon Musk Twitter Rule Can Promote Fraudsters

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Icon Adedoyin 

The world was taken aback when Twitter announced the removal of blue check verification marks on Thursday, April 20th, 2023. This move has sparked numerous conversations and raised concerns about its effects.

In November 2022, Elon Musk shared a tweet that read, "Widespread verification will democratize journalism and empower the voice of the people." It was a noble idea, but Twitter's decision to make verification a paid service has some negative consequences.

The removal of blue check verification marks means that any Tom, Dick or Harry can create a fake account and impersonate notable personalities, organizations, and bodies. Criminals can pay a sum as low as $8 and commit fraudulent activities under the guise of a verified account. This is disastrous because users and followers won't be able to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate accounts.

Verification marks used to be the only way of confirming the authenticity of an account, and it has worked pretty well in the past. Twitter, under Elon Musk's leadership, introduced subscriptions, but they soon returned to the old ways. Musk's move has been seen by some as a way of making Twitter a profit-making machine.

The negative effects of this development outweigh its benefits. Twitter may want to create a democratic society where everyone and anyone matters, but this will become a powerful tool for criminals and illicit organizations.

Twitter is supposed to be a platform where people connect with important personalities and organizations to get important information. However, with the removal of the blue check verification marks, people are beginning to question the platform's usefulness. We can only hope that this move doesn't result in unforeseen circumstances.





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