People started spreading fake news on Twitter the instant they could buy a blue check
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:02 pm
People started spreading fake news on Twitter the instant they could buy a blue check
November 9, 2022
Elon Musk's Twitter dropped its new pay-for-play verification checkmark on Wednesday (Nov. 9) and, shocker, it was a huge boon for the fake news industry.
The new Twitter Blue subscription costs $8 per month and comes with a blue check nearly identical to those of celebrities or journalists. The only difference is if you click the badge it tells you if it was given to a notable person or if it was paid for by a Twitter Blue subscriber. At a glance, just scrolling by, it looks exactly the same.
Almost immediately, people started posting fake news. The sports world was especially affected. Twitter is the place to go for sports discussion so it adds up that trolls would try to fool folks. The most common ploy was to create rumors about a player leaving their team. Most notably there was a fake LeBron James demanding a trade from the Lakers. There was a fake version of ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting that the Las Vegas Raiders' head coach had been fired. A fake Aroldis Chapman announced the pitcher was staying with the New York Yankees.
Read more here:
https://mashable.com/article/fake-news- ... rification
November 9, 2022
Elon Musk's Twitter dropped its new pay-for-play verification checkmark on Wednesday (Nov. 9) and, shocker, it was a huge boon for the fake news industry.
The new Twitter Blue subscription costs $8 per month and comes with a blue check nearly identical to those of celebrities or journalists. The only difference is if you click the badge it tells you if it was given to a notable person or if it was paid for by a Twitter Blue subscriber. At a glance, just scrolling by, it looks exactly the same.
Almost immediately, people started posting fake news. The sports world was especially affected. Twitter is the place to go for sports discussion so it adds up that trolls would try to fool folks. The most common ploy was to create rumors about a player leaving their team. Most notably there was a fake LeBron James demanding a trade from the Lakers. There was a fake version of ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting that the Las Vegas Raiders' head coach had been fired. A fake Aroldis Chapman announced the pitcher was staying with the New York Yankees.
Read more here:
https://mashable.com/article/fake-news- ... rification