Twitter Suspends $8 Subscription Program After Fake Accounts Boom

 

Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc. has suspended the $8 subscription program it launched earlier this week after fake accounts impersonating major brands boomed on the micro-blogging site.

A person familiar with the move reportedly said that Twitter was struggling with impostor accounts, and to combat the growing problem, it decided to suspend the $8 subscription program.

The person sharing this information asked not to be identified. The move to suspend the subscription program was reported earlier by the website Platformer.

An account claiming to be Nintendo Inc. posted an image of Super Mario holding up a middle finger, which was a disrespectful sign on the social media platform. Another account posing as pharma giant Eli Lilly & Co. tweeted that insulin was now free - forcing the company to issue an apology to people. It led to chaos on the social media platform.

Twitter Support wrote on the micro-blogging site on Friday, “To combat impersonation, we've added an 'Official' label to some accounts.”

On Friday, the richest man in the world also tweeted that all accounts engaged in parody must include "parody" in their name. Musk reportedly wrote on Twitter, “Accounts engaged in parody must include "parody" in their name, not just in bio.”

Last week, Musk said that Twitter would ban accounts that impersonate others. He also said that any name change could lead to a temporary loss of a verified blue check mark.

Recently, top advertisers also pulled back from the social media platform amid concern over Twitter’s ability to tackle impostors and hate speech. According to Bloomberg, Musk said this week in his first address to Twitter employees that the company could face bankruptcy in the future.

Musk acquired Twitter last month for $44 billion. Subsequently, he introduced various changes to Twitter’s Blue subscription service. He also fired Twitter employees, including the CEO and other top executives.