Paid blue ticks lead to fears of fake Twitter accounts, say experts

(This story originally appeared in on Apr 22, 2023)

Twitter started stripping government organisations, public personalities and businesses of the coveted blue tick verification as part of a new revenue policy by Elon Musk. The move, being a potentially profitable exercise for the new owner, is fraught with dangers and may result in increased instances of cyber crime, financial frauds and unlawful criminal activities through fake accounts created on the platform.

Experts said decision of Twitter to offer blue tick verification for a subscription fee (goes to as low as Rs 650 per month if used through web, not Android or iOS) runs risk of “trapping gullible people” into unlawful activities as the check-mark in blue had become almost synonymous with authenticity and official word.

Twitter Blue Ticks: From Bill Gates, Pope Francis to Virat Kohli and Shah Rukh Khan, if you didn’t pay for it, it’s gone

Twitter has started to remove blue ticks from verified accounts, including high-profile figures such as Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Virat Kohli or say Shah Rukh Khan. This follows a pledge from Twitter owner Elon Musk to eliminate what he called a “lords & peasants system” and to offer the blue badge to anyone willing to pay $8 per month. Musk previously stated that this move would “democratise journalism & empower the voice of the people,” but his $44 billion investment in the site has since dwindled. The removal of blue ticks marks a significant shift in Twitter’s verification system.

This may end now as anyone who is willing to pay the stipulated fee to the American micro-blogging site can get a bluetick and impersonate a genuine company/individual/government account through a similar sounding name.

While Twitter is giving a grey tick to government-related handles and a gold to official business accounts, many have been left out. For example, at the time of going to press, the Twitter handles of top financial institutions — such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, and Motilal Oswal Financial Services — are not verified.

Surprisingly, rather than being alert to potential threats of an unverified digital presence, some companies, that have a huge public-facing financial business, made light of the situation.

Discover the stories of your interest

“Blue tick or not, our research is always verified #MotilalOswal #BlueTick #BlueTickGone #BlueCheck #BlueCheckMark #BlueTickRemoved #Research #Verified #StockMarketIndia,” Motilal Oswal Financial Services tweeted, through its account which remains unverified as yet.

Many top government organisations do not have any verification. For example, the official twitter handle of commerce and industry ministry is without any kind of verification and same is the case with the ministry of electronics and IT.

Ironically, the latter has the mandate to regulate digital platforms and companies such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Even the government’s communication agency, Press Information Bureau, does not have any kind of verification as yet.

Top politicians such as UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has an unverified account, and so is the case with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.

Even the account of the country’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant is unverified. Otherpersonalities whose accounts have lost verification include top film star Shah Rukh Khan and cricketer Virat Kohli.

Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal says the development may expose a large number of India’s population, most of which is digitally connected, to potential cyber frauds.

“It’s got a huge consumer protection issue. Consumers will now be exposed to vested interests and monetary frauds,” he says. He adds, “Consumers have a mindset that anything that comes out through a bluetick handle is true. ”

“Now anyone can pay and get a blue tick. More and more cyber criminals will pay for it in order to defraud and cheat others. The blue tick will also be bought by non-state actors, who will want to change the narrative on sensitive issues for various nefarious activities, including for creating social and communal disturbances. ” Experts say impersonations will open the floodgates for litigation against Twitter.