Elon Musk said he has delayed the overhaul of Twitter’s process for verifying users’ authenticity, as the billionaire entrepreneur considers more ways to change the social media platform’s rules without losing its luster.
Mr. Musk previously sought to expand people’s access to Twitter’s checkmark status symbol by opening it to users paying a monthly $8 fee for the blue badge and additional tools inaccessible to others.
Twitter struggled to keep up with the ensuing rush of accounts impersonating prominent brands and users, which created doubt about the veracity of information on the platform.
“Holding off relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation,” Mr. Musk tweeted Monday. “Will probably use different color check for organizations than individuals.”
The extended timeline means additional changes to the verification process are likely on hold until December, as Mr. Musk had said earlier this month he planned to relaunch the product on Nov. 29.
Meeting Mr. Musk’s deadlines for making major changes to the social media platform may prove challenging for Twitter’s remaining workforce, which has downsized since his takeover.
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Twitter shed about half of its 7,500 workers this month, according to a tweet from Yoel Roth, the company’s then-head of safety and integrity who has exited the company. Hundreds more employees left the company last week after Mr. Musk made demands of an intense work routine or resignations.
Mr. Musk has since stopped the layoffs and is looking for new talent to join the company, according to The Verge.
Alongside the workers cut by Twitter, other tech companies’ employees have faced layoffs in recent weeks. For example, Meta said this month it planned to eliminate 11,000 jobs, while Amazon is poised to cut as many as 10,000 workers, according to reports.
• This article is based in part on wire-service reports.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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