Elon has been going off on Twitter now that he owns it, triggering the self-important with his new blue check policy, mocking his enemies with obvious glee and abandon, and finding ever-funnier ways to snipe at his opponents. Banning Kathy Griffin was pretty darn funny too, as was her ensuing meltdown and Whoopi Goldberg’s quitting the platform in protest.
Well, Elon took his Twitter antics up a notch on the hilarity scale recently when he mocked Democrat Sen. Ed Markey so severely that Sen. Markey threatened him.
That began when Markey wrote a letter to Elon regarding impersonation and the blue check system, saying:
“Apparently, due to Twitter’s lax verification practices and apparent need for cash, anyone could pay $8.00 and impersonate someone on your platform. Selling the truth is dangerous and unacceptable. Twitter must explain how this happened and how it will prevent it from happening again.
“Safeguards such as Twitter’s blue checkmark once allowed users to be smart, critical consumers of news and information in Twitter’s global town square. But your Twitter takeover, rapid and haphazard imposition of platform changes, removal of safeguards against disinformation, and firing of large numbers of Twitter employees have accelerated Twitter’s descent into the Wild West of social media. That is unacceptable. Twitter and its leadership have a responsibility to the public to ensure the platform doesn’t become a breeding ground for manipulation and deceit.
Notwithstanding Twitter’s termination of Twitter Blue and paid-for blue checkmark verification shortly following the publication of the Washington Post article and the proliferation of imposter accounts, Senator Markey requested Twitter leadership provide answers to the following questions:
- What was Twitter’s process for issuing paid-for blue checkmark verification of a Twitter account?
- What was Twitter’s process for issuing verification of an account that is “notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category” on your platform? Please describe the internal steps at Twitter that were supposed to be followed for these processes.
- How did the paid-for blue check verification process differ from the free verification process that preceded it?
- How dis Twitter’s system allow a Washington Post reporter to obtain verification of a fake account?
- Is Twitter planning to reintroduce a verification system?
Markey posted the letter on Twitter with the caption “A @washingtonpost reporter was able to create a verified account impersonating me—I’m asking for answers from @elonmusk who is putting profits over people and his debt over stopping disinformation. Twitter must explain how this happened and how to prevent it from happening again.”
Well, Elon decided to not take the Massachusetts Senator’s letter and complaints seriously.
Instead, he mocked the “Masshole” mercilessly, joking that Markey was easy to impersonate because his real account seems like a parody and mocking the senator’s profile picture choice:
Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?
And why does your pp have a mask!?
And while Elon was unfazed, Sen. Markey the Masshole was not. Obviously enraged at Elon’s joke about his real account seeming like a parody, Sen. Markey threatened Elon, saying that Congress would “fix” Elon’s companies if Elon didn’t do what he wanted:
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