MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said Friday morning that Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s decision to remove the blue check marks from accounts would cause “heartache” and “chaos.”
Twitter announced on April 11 that legacy blue checkmarks would be removed on April 20. Those who wished to keep their blue checks would have to subscribe to Twitter Blue and pay the $8 fee each month.
Co-host Mika Brzezenski said she was concerned about the removals.
“The removal of the free verification process also raises concerns about the risks of misinformation,” Brzezenski said. “A number of false government accounts, including some posing as the IRS amid tax filing season, emerged yesterday. Other accounts, such as this one form the city of New York, attempted to proclaim their authenticity, only to be met by fraudulent accounts that created further chaos.”
“It’s absolutely chaotic,” Scarborough said. “I looked at so many of these examples yesterday where it’s just absolute chaos. Especially with these government agencies, these health agencies, these safety agencies, that is going – and the possibility of fraud, I mean, this is going to cause a lot of heartache and a lot of hardship for, you know, Americans trying to sort through this. And there are real safety and public health issues here”
“How about for democracy,” Brzezenski said. (RELATED: ‘Serious Danger’: Elon Musk Predicts Banking Crisis After Real Estate ‘Anvil’ Drops)
Musk tweeted Thursday he was “personally” paying for a few blue checks for certain famous accounts such as Stephen King.