Twitter’s recent overhaul, helmed by Elon Musk, has brought about several changes to the platform, but none as problematic as the updates to the verification system.

What’s The Deal With Checkmarks

The platform now essentially allows anyone to purchase a blue checkmark, giving the illusion of legitimacy, which has become a playground for scammers and spammers. Twitter’s solution is to suspend such accounts once detected, while also hinted at new measures for confirming user identities in the Twitter Blue sign-up process.

However, there is no real checking process in place, with the platform relying on “payment verification”. The idea is that bot accounts won’t be able to pay for the subscription, thus, won’t be able to sign up for Twitter Blue, or it’ll be increasingly expensive for them to do so.

Boxes Aren’t Being Ticked

Despite Twitter’s pledge to add a manual checking process for all Twitter Blue applicants, this hasn’t happened. The blue checkmark adds a level of legitimacy to accounts in-stream, which is the whole lure of the offering.

For a monthly fee of $8, users can be viewed on the same level as celebrities and stars, solidifying their presence and status on the platform. However, without proper checks in place, it remains problematic. Twitter is trying to counter impersonation problems by adding new badges and variations, but it’s becoming increasingly cluttered and confusing.

So What’s To Come?

The updated Twitter verification system is still a mess, and it’s not likely to generate enough revenue to justify the extra work required to add proper checks and maintenance.