New York (PTI): Twitter is planning to defer the rollout of the verification check marks to its subscribers of the new USD 7.99 a month subscription service until after Tuesday's midterm elections in the US, amid concerns over the spread of false information, a media report has said.
The midterm elections on November 8 will decide the control of the US Congress and other important governorships.
The social media company made the call a day after announcing that it was rolling out the programme for subscribers to receive a verification check mark on their profile for the monthly fee.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Twitter is delaying the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers of its new USD 7.99 a month subscription service until after Tuesday's midterm elections .
Power to the people. Your account will get a blue check mark, just like the celebrities, companies, and politicians you already follow, Twitter said in the announcement for the blue tick on Saturday.
Several Twitter users and employees had voiced concerns that the new badges "could cause confusion ahead of Tuesday's midterm elections because users could easily create verified accounts say, posing as President Biden or as lawmakers or news outlets and publishing false information about voting results which could potentially sow discord," the NYT report said.
One Twitter employee, in an internal company communication, asked why the social network was making such a risky change before elections, which has the potential of causing election interference," the report said.
A manager working on the verification badge project said we've made the decision to move the launch of this release to November 9, after the midterm elections," it said.
In the immediate aftermath following Musk's acquisition of Twitter, the billionaire entrepreneur has orchestrated significant changes at the company, including trimming the workforce by half.
Regarding Twitter's reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over USD 4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50 per cent more than legally required, Musk tweeted on Friday.
The NYT report said that Musk and his advisers have also been discussing various ways to wring more money out of Twitter.
In addition to the check mark programme, they have talked about adding paid direct messages which would let users send private messages to high-profile users to the service, as well as paywalled videos, which would mean that certain videos could not be viewed unless users paid a fee.
In a series of tweets about changes at Twitter, Musk said Trash me all day, but it'll cost USD 8" and that Twitter will soon add the ability to attach long-form text to tweets, ending "absurdity" of notepad screenshots.
He said going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying parody will be permanently suspended.
"Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning. This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue. Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark," he said.
Musk noted that widespread verification will democratise journalism and empower the voice of the people and Twitter needs to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world.
"That's our mission," he added.
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MVA to keep all its newly-elected MLAs under one roof after poll results: Sanjay Raut
Mumbai (PTI): The Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents have decided to house all its newly-elected MLAs together in Mumbai after the Maharashtra election results, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Friday, a move aimed at preventing poaching ahead of government formation.
Talking to reporters here, Raut said MVA leaders, including himself, his party colleague Anil Desai, NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil and Congress leaders Satej Patil and Balasaheb Thorat met on Thursday and carried out an assessment of every seat.
"We have decided to bring all newly-elected MLAs to Mumbai. New MLAs have no provision to stay in Mumbai. So we have decided to make their residential arrangements together," he said.
The counting of votes for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls will take place on Saturday.
Raut expressed confidence that the MVA would win 160 seats in the elections.
Some independents, who have strong chances of victory, have expressed their desire to support the opposition bloc, the Rajya Sabha member said.
"There is no formula for the CM's post. Everyone will choose the leader of the government," Raut said.
Senior Congress leaders have to come to Mumbai with a mandate on the CM's post as NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray are in Mumbai.
He also asserted that no power can stop the MVA from forming the next government in Maharashtra and that the decision on the top post will be taken only in Maharashtra.
Fissures have emerged within the opposition MVA as well as the ruling Mahayuti on who will head the next government with constituents in both camps laying claim over the chief minister's post. While state Congress chief Nana Patole asserted that a MVA government will be formed in Maharashtra under the leadership of his party, Raut on Thursday insisted the CM face will be decided by all alliance partners jointly.
Raut expressed fear that the BJP will try to obstruct the MVA through the governor's office in forming the government despite the opposition having the majority.
"We will take a decision without any delay, or else BJP will try to snatch power ruthlessly," hesaid.
The term of the Maharashtra legislative assembly ends on November 26. The opposition fears that President's rule could be imposed in the state if a new government is not formed till then.
