In case Elon decides to ban me
Twitter Blue FYP placement is dishonest trash (in my opinion)
Elon Musk claims he’s requiring a Twitter Blue (i.e. paid) verification in order for an account to receive placement on a Twitter user’s “For You Page” (as opposed to your “Following” feed).
He claims the reason for this change is to reduce the bot problem and increase exposure for authentic users.
He’s not wrong — there is a huge bot problem on Twitter!
But, in my opinion, if Musk cared about authenticity or minimizing the reach and exposure of bots, he’d allow legacy accounts like mine to keep our blue check verification without having to pay for Twitter Blue.
That’s because we are verified.
In order to get my blue check all those years ago, I had to submit proof of my identity including an official government ID and multiple clips proving I’d been published in well-established media publications. I had links to my work in Cosmopolitan, Huffington Post, Esquire, Redbook, Buzzfeed, YourTango and more.
I love my legacy blue check and I would submit all of these things again to prove that I am who I say I am.
I will take my ID to a notary and have my application for verification notarized, even. This time, I can add The Boston Globe, Vox and The New York Times clips to my application now, as well as media appearances on NPR, CBS News, the BBC, CBC, CNN and more.
But I’m not paying for my blue check. I have no reason to pay for respect.
Note: I’m pasting screenshots of my tweets discussing this into this post in case Mr. Musk decides to ban me (shadow ban or real one) for my opinions.
