Twitter reinstates ‘official’ tags after flood of fake accounts

A blue verification check on the page of Twitter Inc on a laptop computer arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US. Twitter is struggling with impostor accounts since the company allowed paying subscribers to get verified blue check marks. — Bloomberg

Twitter Inc reinstated “official” badges for high-profile accounts to combat a growing problem of users impersonating major brands.

The gray badge reappeared below the profiles of businesses and major media outlets Friday. The identification marker was rolled out earlier this week before being scrapped.

Twitter is struggling with impostor accounts since the company allowed paying subscribers to get verified blue check marks. One account claiming to be Nintendo Inc posted an image of Super Mario holding up a middle finger, while another posing as pharma giant Eli Lilly & Co tweeted that insulin was now free – forcing the company to issue an apology. A purported Tesla Inc account joked about the carmaker’s safety record.

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“To combat impersonation, we’ve added an ‘Official’ label to some accounts,” Twitter Support tweeted on Friday.

Elon Musk tweeted the same day that all accounts engaged in parody must include “parody” in their name.

The world’s wealthiest man, who acquired Twitter last month for US$44bil, is facing a slew of challenges as top-advertisers pull back from the platform amid concern over the company’s ability to tackle impostors and hate speech. Musk, who has also saw resignations among his leadership team, said this week in his first address to employees that the company could face bankruptcy, Bloomberg News previously reported. – Bloomberg