Twitter strips Taliban of blue checkmarks purchased via premium service: Report
Christopher Hutton
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Twitter has removed the verified “blue checkmarks” senior Taliban officials obtained by purchasing the service’s premium subscription, a decision that shows the difficulties and complications that the platform is encountering as it tries to promote account verification.
The social media service removed the checkmark from at least two Taliban officials, Abdul Haq Hammad and Hedayatullah Hedayat, on Tuesday, according to the New York Post. The officials’ Twitter Blue checkmarks were noticed by the BBC on Monday.
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Hammad leads the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, which acts as the Taliban’s media watchdog, while Hedayat leads the Taliban’s “department for access to information.”
Hammad and Hedayat are not the only members of the Taliban to purchase access to Twitter’s premium service. Several other public figures within the Taliban have also reportedly purchased Twitter Blue subscriptions, although a checkmark has not been attached to their accounts since Tuesday.
The Taliban are well known for limiting the rights of women in Afghanistan. Taliban officials restricted the ability of women to work and have used violent force against protesters who attempted to challenge the country’s ban on women’s education and work.
Twitter updated Twitter Blue in December in an attempt to restore interest in the service and generate more revenue for the struggling social platform. The new version of Blue offers users a verified blue checkmark in exchange for $8 a month. This payment-based approach to verification has allowed users to pretend to be notable accounts and spread false information. For example, one user created a fake account for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and promised to provide insulin for free. The tweet led to the company’s stock plummeting.
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The Eli Lilly tweet led to Twitter owner Elon Musk suspending the service temporarily so the social media company could incorporate safeguards into place to prevent further such instances.
Twitter and Musk did not comment on the reason for the checkmarks’ removal.