How Elon Musk makes celebrities obedient on Twitter
While normal users have to pay for the verification hook, high-reach accounts get it for free. A lesson in applied bribery.
If you pay for Twitter, you will be attacked – if you are prominent, you will get away for free.
Photo: Twitter
The Twitter boss carried out his threat and that verification system upside down. Elon Musk has removed the tick after the name of the users who had been confirmed as genuine free of charge before his aegis. Since last week, this confirmation has required a Twitter Blue subscription for seven francs a month.
This has created considerable momentum. Many of those who have been verified so far were deliberately unmoved: “Away with the hook of shame”, tweeted Satirist Jan Böhmermann. And: “Finally we are all the same and the assholes are easy to recognize again.” This means that anyone who dares to go public on Twitter with a corresponding hook must expect hostilities. Because in the perception of many users, he is one of those who support Musk’s new, controversial regime. He’s also part of a self-proclaimed elite who want to get their voice heard in exchange for money: Twitter blue includes preferential treatment. The opposite people without a subscription lose reach.
Users willing to pay must justify themselves. For example, Viktor Giacobbo, who responded to the criticism of a journalist from Blick: “It’s practical for me because a tweet can be corrected and fake accounts are quickly blocked. And I pay a horrendous 7 francs a month for stupid apps and a multiple for paid media.» But there is also a lot of caustic mockery, some original memes and the demand #BlockTheBlue – i.e. to block the members of Elon Musk’s pay club right away.
That’s not the pinnacle of absurdity: there are celebrities who are downright begging to keep their hook. One of them is actor Charlie Sheen, alluding to the failed rocket launch last Saturday tweeted, he was sorry that Musk’s great rocket exploded, but he would certainly build a new one that was even bigger and exploded even better: “Now can I please have my blue hook back? It would mean a lot to me.”
Elon Musk last week in an interview with the controversial and now-fired Fox journalist Tucker Carlson.
KEYSTONE
Other prominent and high-reach tweeters observed that their hook hasn’t gone away. Horror author and Elon Musk critic Stephen King emphasized that statementthat he wasn’t subscribed to Twitter Blue, even though it said so. Whereupon Musk answered: “You’re welcome, namaste.”
So that Twitter Blue doesn’t become a complete flop, Musk has given some of the heavyweights on his platform the subscription for free: In addition to King, basketball player LeBron James and Star Trek legend William Shatner are also among the recipients. And last Sunday, it was announced that all accounts with a following of one million people or more will receive Twitter Blue for free, although not all will get the verification tick.
“Rockstar move, my good sir”
This gift doesn’t go down well with everyone — because it can be taken as a general endorsement of Musk and his leadership style on Twitter. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found it necessary to to hold onthat it wasn’t subscribed to Twitter Blue, which in turn generated tens of thousands of reactions. For his part, actor Charlie Sheen is filled with childish delight at Musk’s little present. With ten million followers, he also got the hook for free: “It’s like Christmas and a birthday at the same time! I blush with gratitude: Rockstar move, my good sir.”
That means: The prominent users benefit without being exposed to the #BlockTheBlue hostilities. Even Stephen King worked on his recent tweets unusually forgiving. Without a doubt: That was a stroke of genius from the Twitter boss. And even we, who didn’t get anything from Musk, can consider ourselves lucky: We can see in public how a favoritism system is created with small donations.
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2023-04-25 18:13:16
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