By Leah Montebello
Elon Musk’s Twitter shake-up continued at pace this weekend, with thousands of employees sacked and paid verification firmly on the table.
While Twitter has remained relatively quiet since the Tesla founder completed his $44bn (£39bn) takeover, the social media confirmed on Saturday that it would now allow users to buy blue-tick verified status.
The controversial move will mean that users who sign up the the Twitter Blue service for $7.99 (£7) will be able to have a verified tick on their account, which was previously reserved for high-profile or influential individuals and organisations.
Analyst at GlobalData Rachel Foster Jones said that whilst the move could boost subscription-based revenues, it paves the way for impersonation and misinformation – leaving users to decipher genuine influencers from those who have paid for notoriety.
Musk also laid off around half of the company’s 7,500 workforce on Friday, stating that he had “no choice”.
He said Twitter was losing more than $4m (£3.5m) per day, or about $1,000 every minute.
Former Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey took to Twitter to apologise to his former colleagues.
“Folks at Twitter, past and present, are strong and resilient,” Dorsey wrote. “They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me.
“I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that.”
There are also some concerns across ad land about what Musk’s leadership may mean.
In an email sent to a media agency this week and seen by the Financial Times, Twitter pleaded with brands to “bear with us as we move through this transition”.
The eccentric billionaire tried to soothe advertisers’ concerns himself by tweeting a poll this week asking if the community would support free speech or political correctness.
Audi, General Motors, General Mills and other advertisers have all pulled ads on the site.
The United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, issued a statement calling for Musk to “ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter”.
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