Misinformation runs rife on X.com, and the move to selling check marks—a public marker of sorts that verifies an account’s legitimacy on the platform—was always a shit show from the start.
In a report by the Tech Transparency Project titled “U.S.-Sanctioned Terrorists Enjoy Premium Boost on X,” published on May 15, the nonprofit announced that it’d combed through the accounts of individuals as disparate as “an advisor to al-Qaida, one of the founders of Hezbollah, the head of an Iraqi militia group known for attacks on US troops, and a top official with the Houthi rebels (of Yemen)…” who’ve been allowed to buy premium accounts on X.com.
How did this happen when the US government prohibits American companies from doing business with sanctioned individuals such as these (without government preauthorization)?
And is anyone really that surprised?
who’s the ttp?
The TTP uses the tagline, “Holding Big Tech Accountable,” which is the most succinct way of summing up the nonprofit’s mission statement.
As they put it in a slightly wordier way, “TTP is a research initiative of Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life.”
Subscribers to X Premium are the ones who receive blue check marks now, rather than how the process was under its pre-Musk association as Twitter, which was cut short soon after he took the helm.
“Previously, the blue checkmark indicated active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest that were independently verified based on certain requirements,” X says on a support webpage.
“Now the blue checkmark means the account has an active subscription to X Premium. Accounts that receive the blue checkmark as part of a X Premium subscription will not undergo review to confirm that they meet the active, notable and authentic criteria that was used in the previous process.”
According to the TTP, X shouldn’t be allowed to let prohibited groups join X Premium and enjoy the blue check marks.
“X’s policies explicitly state that its premium services are off limits to users subject to OFAC sanctions,” the TTP report wrote. “But TTP found premium blue checkmark accounts for multiple terrorists and others under OFAC-enforced sanctions.
“Some of these accounts even had an “ID verified” badge, meaning that X confirmed their identity after they submitted a government-issued ID and a selfie to the company. Several made use of revenue-generating features offered by X, including a button for tips.”
It just goes to show you that X’s faith in community moderators’ ability to replace on-staff fact-checkers didn’t turn out too well.
The post X Is Selling Check Marks to US-Sanctioned Groups, Says Report appeared first on VICE.
