UPDATE - Musk Says Twitter's New Verification Badges To Help 'Democratize Journalism'

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th November, 2022) US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who recently acquired Twitter, says the social media platform's new plan to have users get a verification check mark on their profile for a monthly fee will "democratize journalism."

"Twitter needs to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world. That's our mission," Musk tweeted on Sunday.

In another post, the SpaceX and Tesla founder said that "Widespread verification will democratize journalism and empower the voice of the people."

Musk pointed out that with widespread verification, there will be no warning before suspension, and this rule will be a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue.

"Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark," Musk tweeted.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Twitter was going to delay the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers of its new $7.99 a month subscription service until November 9, the day after the US midterm elections.

According to the newspaper, Twitter users and employees are concerned that the verification badges could cause confusion and potentially sow discord and lead to election interference, since it would be too easy to create verified accounts and pose as a lawmaker or news source, spreading false information.

A Twitter manager working on the verification badge project said as quoted by The New York Times on Sunday that the company "made the decision to move the launch of this release to Nov. 9, after the election."

Musk finally closed the $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter last week, coming shortly before voters head to the polls in the November 8 midterms to determine who controls US Congress.

Musk said on Twitter on Sunday that the number of Twitter users has increased significantly all over the world since the announcement of the deal.