After a first attempt, which had prompted a swarm of trolls and imposters to sometimes pretend to be Elon Musk himself, the boss of the social network intends to carry out this evolution successfully, against all odds.

This blue notch, affixed next to the name of the profile, has become, since its creation in 2009, one of the essential brands on Twitter, courted by accounts that wanted to be certified, allowing the platform to become a safe forum for stars, politicians, organizations and journalists.

But the billionaire, and his army of fans, instead sees it as the hallmark of a two-tier system, separating what he presents as Twitter's "plebeians" from a privileged elite.

One of its first decisions, after buying the network last year, was to redesign Twitter Blue, the paid version of Twitter, by incorporating certification, a reform that quickly turned into a fiasco.

In the hours that followed, fake accounts, but certified, flourished, posing as celebrities or large companies, sometimes not without consequences: the stock of pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly plunged because of an ad on one of these fake accounts.

Faced with a tide of fake accounts himself, Mr. Musk backed down, instituting a system for checking subscribers to the option, but too late: many of the major advertisers left Twitter, reducing the network's revenue.

Since its acquisition, Elon Musk has largely cut in the workforce and at the same time restored access to those whose accounts had been blocked, causing an explosion of hate speech and online violence, according to organizations monitoring social networks.

"Two-speed space"

It remains to be seen how many users will pay to keep their certification. "The question is: do you accept this blackmail?" asked Rob Enderle, an analyst at Enderle Group.

For a brand or celebrity, the risk, if they refuse to pay, is to see an imposter do it to pretend to be the official account, he points out.

Those who pay via Twitter Blue will not be subject to as extensive verification as that hitherto necessary to qualify for free, according to a blog post from the group.

"In short, Twitter Blue is a receipt, a proof of payment by the user," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Techsponential.

"It's a way to treat everyone fairly," Elon Musk responded last week to a tweet from Star Trek legend William Shatner, who explained that he refused to pay, "there should be no different treatment for celebrities."

Twitter and Tesla boss Elon Musk on a mobile phone screen in March 2023 © SAMUEL CORUM / AFP/Archives

According to Travis Brown, a software developer who also specializes in social media monitoring, 13,200 accounts have so far chosen to pay to maintain their certification. "At this speed, it will be 5% on April 1," he said Thursday.

The question also arises for the media, which have the certification reserved for companies but will have to pay $ 1,500 per month to keep it.

A spokesman for the New York Times assured that the daily will not pay and will only do so, on a case-by-case basis "when verified status is essential to work", for its journalists.

On the side of the Washington Post, we prefer to wait to see the consequences of the change while AFP, in an internal email to its journalists, explained "study the situation" and can "adapt if necessary".

On the side of organizations, the model makes cringe, while the idea is emulated: Facebook is currently testing it in Australia and New Zealand.

"Instead of reforming his platform in order to promote access to reliable information, Elon Musk is making it a two-speed space, where only those who pay have a say, regardless of whether or not they produce information of general interest," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) secretary-general Christophe Deloire told AFP.

"This contributes to the loss of confidence, for an increase in revenues that will probably not happen," Greengart said.

Asked by AFP, Twitter's press service sent back by email only the planned automatic response, an emoji in the shape of a pile of excrement.

© 2023 AFP