Taliban authorities buying Elon Musk's Twitter blue tick paid verification: Report

 

Taliban officials are verifying their accounts on Twitter using the blue tick subscription, which was started by Twitter’s new CEO Elon Musk, after he took over the social media platform in October 2022.

According to BBC, two prominent Taliban officials and four supporters got their Twitter accounts verified using a blue tick subscription feature. The head of the Taliban department for access to information, Hedayatullah Hedayat, got his account verified by paying the subscription charge. According to BBC, his blue tick was removed last month but has now returned.

The head of the media watchdog in the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, Abdul Haq Hammad, also bought the blue tick verification. His bio reads he is an “Islamic scholar and political analyst.”

Supporters of the Taliban have also paid to get their accounts verified. Taliban official Muhammad Jalal also praised Elon Musk and said that he made Twitter great. Jalal’s posts endorse the government in Afghanistan.

The blue tick verification on Twitter is available at the price of $8 for android users and $11 for iOS users. To avail of this service, the account has to be 90 days old and have a confirmed registered phone number.

Before Elon Musk took over Twitter, the blue tick verification was available only for active, notable, and authentic Twitter accounts of public interest. However, after Musk took over the social media platform, the blue tick can be purchased through the new Twitter Blue service.

The Taliban's presence on Twitter has received backlash from prominent people, especially US Republicans. They reportedly said, “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter but not our favourite American President Donald Trump.”

Last year, Afghans called for a ban on Taliban officials on Twitter. Facebook has already banned the Taliban from its platform. YouTube also took down all Taliban content from the platform.