A new checkmark on Elon Musk’s Twitter that verified the Taliban leader’s account has disappeared after “fury” over the “Twitter Blue” policy, according to media reports.
The check mark has since disappeared after a story earlier this week by the BBC reported that the Taliban paid for verification under Musk’s new scheme to raise money.
It’s unclear whether the checkmark was removed by Twitter, or by the Taliban, because of the controversy, Business Insider reported.
The check mark is supposed to verify the identity of the owner of the Twitter profile (although fake profiles are also mistakenly “verified”).
Before Musk bought Twitter last October for $ 44 billion, a blue check mark indicates that “active, important, and genuine accounts of public interest” were verified by Twitter, and could not be purchased.
But now subscribers to Blue Musk’s new Twitter system — which costs $8 a month — benefit from “priority ranking in searches, mentions and replies,” according to social media platforms.
Since early last week, two Taliban officials, four key supporters in Afghanistan and other members of the Taliban have used the check mark, the BBC reported.
One such “verified” Twitter user is Hedayatullah Hedayat, head of the Taliban’s “access to information” department, with 187,000 followers, according to the BBC. Top Taliban media official Abdul Haq Hammad, with 170,000 followers, was also “under investigation” earlier this week, according to The Guardian.
Screen Shot/Twitter/Hedayatullah Hedayat
The check mark has disappeared from the profiles of Hedayat and Haq Hammad.
Muhammad Jalal, who describes himself as a Taliban official, praised Musk last Monday, saying he “remade Twitter.” The BBC reported.
The Taliban took over the Twitter account of the old Afghan government after seizing power in August 2021, according to The Guardian.
Twitter, which no longer has a media office, could not be reached for comment.