Elon Musk has announced that only verified accounts will appear in Twitter's recommendation feed (For You) from now on, bringing yet another major change to the popular platform . The change will take effect on April 15.
Twitter's " For You " tab shows users tweets from various accounts, suggested by the social media giant through its algorithm. Until now, it featured content from any Twitter user, whether they were verified or not.
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However, yesterday, Elon Musk, the owner of the platform, stated that only verified accounts will appear in the “For You” section from now on.
According to him, this move “is the only realistic way to deal with the many advanced AI bots.”
Additionally, the billionaire said that only verified accounts will be able to participate in votes.
Since buying Twitter late last year, Elon Musk has made big changes to the way the company handles verification account . Before the acquisition, Twitter used to verify users with a blue checkmark. This way, other users could see that the accounts were genuine and associated with a specific person or company. This process was free and usually the blue checkmark was given to celebrities, journalists, government officials, and organizations/companies.
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Having a verified account on Twitter is generally desirable because the blue checkmark helps increase credibility, provides brand recognition, protects intellectual property, and creates a sense of exclusivity.
However, Musk, upon acquiring Twitter, wanted to bring changes to verified accounts. He made some changes to the subscription service Twitter Blue, allowing each user to pay a small amount of money to verify their account.
Last week, Twitter said it would begin ending its “legacy verification program” and removing blue verification badges that users had earned before the changes. The removal will begin on April 1. The company is urging people with legacy verification badges to sign up for its Twitter Blue subscription service .
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Since acquiring the platform, Elon Musk has been trying to find ways to increase the company's revenue. Paid verified accounts help boost revenue.
Source: www.cnbc.com
