UPDATE 11/8: Yoel Roth, Head of Safety & Integrity at Twitter, confirmed on Monday that the company has "made the decision not to launch Verification for Twitter Blue until after Election Day."
Original Story:
Twitter has delayed the launch of its verification subscription service until after Tuesday's US midterm elections.
The move, as reported by The New York TimesThe New York Times, comes just a day after the social network updated its iOS app, the description of which teased the launch of a $7.99-per-month Blue plan that allowed anyone to purchase a verified checkmark—"just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow," it said.
Charging for verification, according to new owner Elon Musk, is necessary for Twitter to earn money. Still, employees, many of whom were laid off last week in a cost-cutting move, were concerned that Twitter won't have enough staff to handle the usual election-related wave of misinformation. And the social media firm appears to have listened, quickly making an about-face and pulling the verification badge feature—for now.
An unnamed manager working on the project on Sunday told the Times "we've made the decision to move the launch of this release to Nov. 9, after the election." Many races, however, will remain undecided come Wednesday, as votes continue to be tallied across the country.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amidst all this, Musk on Sunday announced that, "going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying 'parody' will be permanently suspended."
"Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning," he wrote, shortly after announcing that "comedy is now legal on Twitter."
"This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue," Musk continued. "Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark." Comedians Kathy Griffin and Sarah Silverman are among those known to have been banned for impersonating Musk; but while Silverman's account (with blue check) has since been restored, Griffin remains blacklisted
"If she really wants her account back, she can have it," Musk said of Griffin, adding: "For $8."