A verified Twitter account pretending to symbolize Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James requested a commerce again to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier as we speak, sparking a Twitter frenzy amongst sports activities followers. It was the results of a deeply questionable new coverage rolled out as we speak by Twitter’s new proprietor, Elon Musk.
As an alternative of rewarding blue test marks to public figures who confirm their identification to the platform – the marks’ authentic and solely goal – Musk now provides them for anybody to buy for $7.99 monthly. That’s the value of his new Twitter Blue subscription plan, which requires no vetting of any variety. It’s a part of a technique Musk devised to cease his platform from dropping what he claims is $4M per day.
However as quickly as Twitter Blue rolled out on Wednesday, the trolls rolled in. An account named @KINGjamez introduced: “I’m formally requesting a commerce. Thanks #LakersNation for all of the help by means of the years. Onto greater and higher issues! #Thekid fromAKRON #ImComingHome.”
The true LeBron James’ Twitter deal with is @kingjames, with an “s.” Nonetheless, it was the blue test mark that brought on hundreds of freaked-out sports activities followers to miss the misspelling. The tweet remained on-line for half-hour and generated hundreds of engagements, in line with Snopes.
The Fowl is NOT the Phrase
In different faux Twitter information, pitcher Aroldis Chapman reportedly tweeted – in English and Spanish – that he had re-signed with the New York Yankees for 3 years. This a month after the staff dropped him from the roster for skipping a compulsory exercise. (Yeah, proper.)
Two-time NHL MVP Connor McDavid additionally reportedly tweeted that he was being traded from the Edmonton Oilers – the place he’s so revered, he was named captain in 2016 – to the New York Islanders.
And ESPN sports activities analyst Adam Schefter reported that Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was fired. (This declare was extra plausible, contemplating the Raiders’ 2-6 report in McDaniels’ first yr in cost.)
All these tweets additionally got here from faux accounts, which additionally featured blue test marks. As per Musk’s promise to completely droop all accounts impersonating different accounts, they had been all banished from the platform. Nonetheless, this solely occurred after they had been seen, appreciated, and shared tens of hundreds of instances. Their harm to the platform’s status had already been achieved.
Earlier Wednesday, Musk tweeted: “Please notice that Twitter will do numerous dumb issues in coming months. We are going to hold what works & change what doesn’t.”
Perhaps reportedly firing half of Twitter’s 7,500 full-time workers final Friday was not one of many issues that labored.