Elon Musk admits Twitter’s move to paid blue check verification could be a “stupid decision” aimed at bringing “80% of humanity” onto the platform

New Twitter owner Elon Musk made an hour-long appeal to advertisers who support the newly launched $8-a-month verification program, promising to make the social platform “a force for good.”

The conversation on the company’s Spaces audio platform (listen to the full audio below) came as some major advertisers put their buys on Twitter on hold due to the dramatic change in ownership.

“I think it’s going to be a good world,” Musk said of the new blue check system. “Don’t we believe in ‘one person, one vote’? I think we do. … Maybe it’s a stupid decision, but we’ll see.”

The company was just taken private by Musk and a group of investors in a $44 billion deal that was first proposed last spring. Musk spent months trying to get out of the acquisition, but finally went ahead and completed it last month. One of the many changes he has made to his oversight of the platform in just a few days is an overhaul of how the company reviews accounts. Historically, users whose accounts were deemed by the company to be particularly valuable to the larger Twitter population because they were prominent figures in politics, media, business, entertainment or other industries (approximately 400,000 accounts) were given a blue check.

To date, Twitter has eliminated that system, which Musk has dismissed as some kind of “gentleman-and-farmer situation” that the United States is waging a war over. Instead, Twitter charges $8 a month for anyone who wants a blue check. The concern of many users and advertisers is the risk of malicious content circulating through accounts with a blue checkmark when the checkmark only means that someone has paid a small amount for the badge. An additional twist to the launch was the canceled launch of gray checks for high-profile subscribers.

During the presentation, Musk and colleagues repeatedly emphasized that they will closely monitor accounts for fraudulent activity. “We will actively suspend accounts that engage in fraud or deception of any kind,” Musk said. “It levels the playing field here. Of course, having a tick is less special. But I think it’s a good thing.”

David Cohen, head of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, attended the meeting representing many stakeholders. As Musk laid out his vision, Cohen once said he received a “tsunami” of emails and tweets from concerned voters. The Twitter soap opera unfolds as the digital ad market slumps, with tech companies like Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Roku reporting a significant drop in ad spending in the third quarter.

Musk, who scoured Twitter for months before making his unsolicited takeover bid and vowed to rid it of bots and fake accounts, continued to make waves with his more than 115 million followers. He also retweeted (and later deleted) an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory about the October 28 attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Despite his long history of questionable tweets, Musk opened the Spaces session with a rhapsody about Twitter’s potential. He said his goal is to make Twitter “as inclusive as possible,” and wondered, “Can we reach 80% of humanity on Twitter?” (While the idea of ​​expanding active users from 238 million, the last number publicly reported, to more than 6 billion is far-fetched, it could ease the pressure to monetize ads.)

In addition to the erratic implementation of certain new practices — as the company also laid off half of its employees — President Joe Biden has promised to investigate the financing behind Musk’s acquisition. Given the involvement of the Saudi Arabian government and other non-US entities, Biden said: “I think Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries are worth investigating, whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate .” no, it’s me, I’m not suggesting it. I suggest it’s worth a look.

Here’s audio from the full Twitter Spaces session: