The introduction of Twitter Blue, a revamped subscription model offering purchasable verification badges, posed a significant challenge to Elon Musk soon after his acquisition of the platform, which he later renamed X. The initiative was met with internal concern and external skepticism from its inception.
On November 9, 2022, there was palpable tension at the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Employees had reservations about the new feature, aware of the potential misuse of the verification system previously trusted to authenticate credible sources, from emergency updates to celebrity comments.
During a meeting break, with Musk momentarily absent, the mood on the team shifted from cautious to critical. They expressed concerns about diluting the value of the verification badge, which could mislead users globally, according to Esther Crawford, a senior product manager, and other sources present.
This episode highlights the complexities and potential pitfalls of changing fundamental aspects of widely used social platforms. As Twitter transitioned to X under Musk’s leadership, the challenges of maintaining trust and functionality while innovating became apparent.
