In 2022, Elon Musk made an attempt to acquire Twitter. However, the venture mogul backed out of the deal when he realized he was overpaying massively. Nonetheless, he ended up taking control of the company through a $44 billion leveraged buyout. He vowed to restore the notion of free speech on the platform.
Elon targeted the system of verified accounts, symbolized by blue checkmarks. Denouncing the system as a sign of disparity, he equated it to a hierarchy of ‘lords and peasants’. He immediately expressed his intentions on Twitter, advocating for the democratization of the verification system.
This led to a kind of symbol-purchasing scheme in 2023. Elon removed the blue checkmarks from users who refused to pay for them. Days later, he started giving them back for free. Elon justified his move claiming it was a pursuit of justice against elite domination. In reality, it was a revenue-generation strategy aimed at reducing dependence on advertisers.
However, his plan backfired dramatically. He removed the legacy checkmarks, which were the ones people hadn’t paid for. Consequently, the once sought-after symbol became a badge of shame. When everyone could buy a checkmark, legitimacy was thrown into disarray.
Despite the debacle, this week, Musk started reinstating blue badges for popular accounts. He tweeted, “Going forward, all X accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get premium features for free, accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free.” Many were quick to clarify that they got their checkmarks back without making a payment.
- Acquire/??kw???/ (verb): To buy or obtain an object or asset for oneself.
- Leveraged /?l?v(?)r?d?d/ (adjective): The use of borrowed capital for an investment, expecting the profits made to be greater than the interest payable.
- Verification /?v?r?f??ke??(?)n/ (noun): The process of establishing the truth or validity of something.
- Disparity /d??spar?ti/ (noun): A great difference or inequality between things.
- Democratization /d??m?kr?ta??ze??(?)n/ (noun): The introduction of a democratic system or democratic principles.
- Disarray /?d?s??re?/ (noun): A state of disorganization or untidiness.
- Debacle /d??bak(?)l/ (noun): A sudden and ignominious failure; a disaster.
- Reinstate /?ri??n?ste?t/ (verb): Restore to a previous position or state.
[ai_quiz id=”4″]
Vocabulary List:
- Acquire (verb): To buy or obtain an object or asset for oneself.
- Leveraged (adjective): The use of borrowed capital for an investment expecting the profits made to be greater than the interest payable.
- Verification (noun): The process of establishing the truth or validity of something.
- Disparity (noun): A great difference or inequality between things.
- Democratization (noun): The introduction of a democratic system or democratic principles.
- Disarray (noun): A state of disorganization or untidiness.
