Well, well, how could things have ever come to this? On May 22, a range of blue tick accounts on Twitter sparked confusion, and even a dip in the stock market, after sharing what appeared to be AI-generated images of an explosion outside the Pentagon building.
“Accounts such as @WarMonitors, @BloombergFeed, and RT posted an image of a large, gray smoke cloud appearing next to a white government building with a corresponding caption that stated there was an explosion near the Pentagon. Bellingcat journalist Nick Waters tweeted that there are a few signs that make it an AI image, including that the fence melds into the crowd barriers on the image and there are no other images or videos being posted on social media.”
AI-Generated Booms
Several blue tick accounts with over a million followers re-Tweeted the image, lending credibility to the hoax. And to no surprise, Twitter’s new blue checkmark process added weight to the claims based on habitual reliance on what the checkmark indicator meant.
To some degree, the ticks had been an indicator of trust. But now that anyone can essentially buy a blue tick, it doesn’t really matter much at all, yet many users won’t necessarily make that connection, or even know what to trust in Twitter’s current state. Chief Twit Elon Musk is hoping to resolve such concerns through increased use of Community Notes, which allows users to fact-check information. The problem with that approach is that it can’t be done in real time, and if a hoax spreads fast, that could lead to major concerns before being ‘noted’.
The ‘reincarnation’ of the blue tick, along with the rising popularity of generative AI elements, has led to several incidents of misunderstanding and misinformation, including this fake Eli Lilly Tweet that sparked a massive dip in the company’s share price. Have you also checked out the Holy Father in his Balenciaga drip? These two incidents highlight the scope of the potential concern here – from business risk to light-hearted in nature. There have also been false reports of Russian aircraft being armed with nuclear payloads to attack Ukraine, which, as you can imagine, is the kind of reporting that can cause mass panic.
On paper, it seems that Twitter’s reformation of its verification system is likely more trouble than it’s worth. Right now, less than 1% of Twitter’s total user base has subscribed to Twitter Blue, bringing in $15.9 million per quarter, which pales in comparison to the $1 billion that it generates per month from ads.
The Wrap
Thus far, it seems that Twitter’s new verification process really isn’t cutting it. Amid hoaxes and concerns like this that are more rooted in misinformation/misinterpretation, it’s likely that the new blue tick might even add to the issue, instead of towards their resolution. Perhaps users will shift their expectations quickly and the marker becomes less of an indicator of trust. Then again, isn’t that the exact value that Twitter’s trying to pitch to subscribers? Overall, it’s another example of why Twitter’s verification reformation is a flawed approach, and it’ll be interesting to see if this changes under new leadership.
Please note:
This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin.
Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
