Four months have passed since Elon Musk took over Twitter’s San Francisco offices, and the company has hardly been out of the spotlight since then. The popular social media platform has come under spotlight yet again particularly in Bangladesh – this time with the removal of a verified fake account carrying the name of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
On October 27th, Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, paid a record $44 billion to acquire Twitter. Some of his more controversial business actions, like laying off half of the workers and altering laws for the social network’s 237 million monthly active members, have kept the company in the attention.
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Elon Musk has been quite vocal about his support for “free speech” and how the platform he owns now allows a wider variety of comments and information. Yet, the most significant policy changes include the blocking of other ways of accessing Twitter, the reinstatement of controversial accounts, paid verification, banning links to other social apps, the deletion of doxxing, as well as the introduction of new blue, gold, and grey Twitter ticks, among others.
Musk’s ‘various Twitter ticks’ policy seem to be useful!
Despite the many complaints, not all of Musk’s Twitter choices can be labeled controversial. Many has supported his moves, while many had criticized him for some changes. Some changes proved to be helpful, such as the removal of HPM’s fake verified Twitter account.
Twitter has deleted the false but verified account of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which caused a social media outcry. The fake account (@Sheikh HasinaBD) was originally detected on Friday, and hundreds of social media users shared screenshots of the account.
Afterwards, officials from the Prime Minister’s Press Wing issued a statement indicating that HPM Sheikh Hasina did not have an account on Twitter or any other social media sites.
“It is observed that this Twitter account is being promoted as the official account of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. But the claim is false,” according to a message sent by the PMO.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not have an account on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media. All are requested to be aware of the matter, and not be confused about it,” the statement read.
What does the policy say?
Musk declared in November that confirmed accounts in the new system would be marked by a blue tick or checkmark for individuals, a grey tick or checkmark for “government,” and a gold tick or checkmark for companies. The rollout of different ticks followed an earlier attempt at a redesign that awarded blue ticks to accounts paying $7.99 each month, which resulted in a surge of fake accounts.
According to Twitter, the grey check mark signifies a government official or organization’s account. Government institutions, such as those investigating public safety, law enforcement, embassies, and other key national-level entities, are eligible to receive a grey checkmark on their Twitter accounts. Additionally, officials such as heads of state, top diplomatic leaders, foreign official spokespeople, national-level cabinet members, and others are eligible for the check mark.
PM Hasina’s fake verified account had a blue tick mark in Twitter.
