U.S. Senator Warns Elon Musk Over Corruption At Twitter

0
565

Elon Musk, the billionaire who took over Twitter towards the end of last year, is still facing criticism over what is the documented ability of just about any rando to create a verified account on the widely used social media site impersonating a government official.

Verification on social media is generally meant to indicate that the claimed owner of a social media account is its actual owner, but for a second time, a writer for The Washington Post was able to — with the Senator’s permission — create a verified account in the name of Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Per writer Geoffrey Fowler, Twitter never asked him for a form of direct verification of his actual identity, like something as simple as a driver’s license image. Verification is available as part of Twitter Blue, a paid version of the site available now. Musk previously insisted in direct terms that all accounts obtaining verification through the paid service would be “manually authenticated” — which clearly doesn’t appear actually true.

“A @washingtonpost reporter was once again able to create a verified account impersonating me,” the Senator himself said on Twitter. “Twitter has failed another test of trust. It is an absolute joke that @elonmusk can’t implement a functioning verification regime—but we aren’t laughing. Twitter’s current leadership has failed to safeguard the platform from misinformation, failed to provide answers to my simple questions regarding its anti-fraud protocols, and failed to demonstrate an appreciation for the role that their platform plays in our democracy.” Markey sought answers after the first incident of the writer successfully impersonating him emerged but was met with little if anything more than mockery from Musk, who replied directly on the site. “Apparently, it’s easier to get a blue checkmark than it is to get a straight answer from Elon Musk. This is unacceptable,” the Senator continued.

There are apparently new procedural hurdles in obtaining verification through Twitter Blue, including that the account in use must be at least 90 days old and linked with a phone number. Fowler was able to obtain a temporary phone number for use in making the account for less than $20 and obviously never verified his identity as the Senator while doing so. A one-week wait before the blue checkmark indicating verification went active also never meant the account creator’s identity was verified. Elsewhere, Elon has now seen what is — according to Guinness World Records — apparently the largest loss of personal wealth in history. That estimated loss originates in substantial part with declines in the share price for the electric vehicle company Tesla, where Musk remains as CEO. Although he remains substantially wealthy, the drop in his personal net worth has reached $200 billion, according to estimates from Bloomberg.