Twitter has delayed its plan to remove the verified status of prominent white nationalists and other unsavory figures until after the upcoming midterm elections, according to a report by Bloomberg Technology citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The change would have occurred earlier this month but was pushed back after pushback from employees who worried that doing so could cost them their job, sources told Bloomberg Technology on Tuesday. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was reportedly adamantly against killing verified status for some users in order to mollify critics, leading to the postponement of the changes.
According to a story from The New York Times, Twitter will hold off on making improvements to its verification procedure and Twitter Blue membership service until after the midterm elections.
In advance of the launch, the social media business started sending out platform improvements to certain users on Saturday. Users will be able to purchase Twitter Blue and obtain a blue checkmark for $7.99 per month, according to the changes detailed in the App Store.
Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter for $44 billion and took ownership of the company on October 28, has proposed a number of suggestions for a new user verification procedure.
Musk lambasted the present method in a previous string of tweets and declared his intention to provide “power to the people” by providing verification to everyone using the site through Twitter Blue for $8 per month.
The revised App Store listing, which was published on Saturday, verified those modifications.
The decision to delay any platform alterations is said to be part of a wider effort from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who plans to revamp verification and improve quality control. The move is said to have been made with the midterm elections in mind. While some might applaud this as an act of transparency, others might see it as an attempt to curb criticism that comes with rolling out a less-transparent process. However, many are welcoming the delayed update because it will give them time to prepare for any unforeseen consequences that may arise from the platform changes.
