Twitter removed the controversial mentions “state-affiliated media” et “government-funded media” pages of major media like the American NPR or the Canadian CBC.
Several Western media accounts, from Russia, China and other countries that carried this mention no longer have it, according to these findings. In addition to NPR and CBC, the official Chinese agency Xinhua (New China) or the Russian RT no longer carried this mention this morning.
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New definition of “affiliated media”
“State-affiliated media is defined as media whose editorial content is controlled by that state through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressure and/or control over production and distribution”could we read on the help center of Twitter.
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“State-funded media organizations with editorial independence, such as the BBC in the UK or NPR in the US, are not defined as state-affiliated media for the purposes of this policy”continued this text.
Several media, like NPR last week or Swedish public radio Sveriges Radio (SR) this week, had decided to leave the platform to protest against these mentions, added as part of the new policy deployed by the platform. since its acquisition by Elon Musk.
Disappearance of free blue badges
The deletion of the mentions comes when the blue badges which made it possible to verify the accounts become paying, and are massively removed from the pages which have not subscribed.
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The badge has thus disappeared from the accounts of personalities such as Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bill Gates or Lady Gaga, as well as those of many journalists, professors and activists. Even @jack, the account of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has been stripped. On the political side, many elected officials have also lost it, but some have obtained the gray check mark, reserved for government accounts or certain organizations.
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The blue badge now flags users who pay eight dollars a month to have this distinction and other benefits of « Twitter Blue » (more visibility, technical privileges, less advertising), like Donald Trump Junior or the Dalai Lama.
« Twitter verified »the paid subscription account to Twitter Blue, had warned on Wednesday that the social network would withdraw the next day the blue badges obtained before Elon Musk bought the company at the end of October and imposed his reverse vision of the previous philosophy.
“To stay authenticated on Twitter, individuals can subscribe to Twitter Blue here”, had specified the official account. The date was not chosen at random: April 20, pronounced 4/20 in English, is synonymous with cannabis in the United States. And the boss of Tesla and SpaceX loves jokes on this subject, to the point of having bought the platform at 54.20 dollars per share.
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Permanent cacophony on Twitter
The multi-billionaire had to try several times to launch Twitter Blue, causing cacophony and confusion. In November, he said he wanted “give more power to the people” and abolish “the current system of lords and peasants, between those who have the blue tick and those who do not”.
“Messages from verified accounts will show by default”he had detailed, while tweets from people who have not paid will be treated a bit like ” Spam “ on a mailbox – a folder that we “can always go to consult”.
According to him, the subscription must also make it possible to fight against false profiles and automated accounts, and to diversify income, while many brands have fled the platform. Between November and January, half of the top 30 advertisers on Twitter had stopped buying ad space there, according to Pathmatics.
Brands are hesitant to spend on a platform “where chaos, arbitrary change and uncertainty reign”, Jasmine Enberg of Insider Intelligence explained last week. According to this research firm, Twitter’s revenues will fall by 28% this year. And the analyst doesn’t think Twitter Blue will make up for the shortfall. “The blue tick is no longer a guarantee of credibility”since anyone can pay for it, she pointed out.
