Elon Musk apparently cannot accept the decision of the “New York Times”, because he describes the activities of the journal on Twitter in very crude words. The “NYT” announced that it was not worth paying to maintain the characteristic “verified account” badge, for which the billionaire-owned platform requires amounts that are difficult to justify.
The “NYT” lost its verified account badge because it didn’t want to pay
As a reminder, Twitter at the end of March These are small icons next to the account name (blue for individuals, gold for businesses and silver for government bodies) that confirm that the account belongs to a specific user and not a scammer or bot. For some time, you have to be a subscriber to the paid platform Twitter Blue to be able to verify your account, but accounts that were considered authentic before November 9, 2022 were able to keep their tag. 1.5 weeks ago, however, Twitter promised that from April 1, it will remove the verification icon from all those who do not pay for the additional service. This, in the case of companies in the US, is as much as $ 1,000 per month for each account.
In response, the management of The New York Times said that it did not intend to pay a fee for any of its profiles. The newspaper added that it would not refund funds to its journalists who want to keep the status of the authentic account, except in special cases. Similar decisions were announced by some other editorial offices and companies. This apparently did not please Elon Musk, because on Saturday the main account, watched by 55 million people, “NYT” lost the authenticity tag. Interestingly, additional accounts belonging to the newspaper, including NYT Science and New York Times World, as well as the profiles of other large editorial offices (including Politico, which previously also refused to pay) for some reason did not lose their verification.
Elon Musk called the content of “NYT” propaganda
Elon Musk quickly addressed the matter on Twitter, but he did it in his style. He did not reveal why his platform removed the gold tag only for the main editorial account. In return, he attacked the newspaper. “The real tragedy of NYTimes is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting,” the billionaire wrote. In other words, according to Musk, one of the most important and opinion-forming newspapers in the world is spreading propaganda. As if that wasn’t enough, the Twitter owner also claimed that the “NYT” Twitter profile is “the equivalent of diarrhea.”
Plus, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s illegible. They would have a lot more real followers if they only posted their best articles. The same applies to all publications
– wrote Elon Musk.
Elon Musk has been doing what he can in recent weeks to increase revenue from the Twitter Blue service. Some time ago, the billionaire announced that the answers of unverified users will have a lower priority than those who pay to use Twitter. What’s more, from April 15, only tweets from verified people, companies and organizations will appear in the default “For you” section. Musk explains these changes with the need to fight “advanced AI bots”.
In Poland, Twitter Blue is available only from February this year. Private users have to pay PLN 36 / PLN 49 per month (depending on the payment method) or PLN 374.99 / PLN 514.99 per year for the service.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
