After Controversial Kyrie Irving and LeBron James Tweet Debacles, Billionaire Elon Musk Announces Massive Change to Twitter Policy

Published 11/11/2022, 12:37 AM EST
The latest addition to the social media platform Twitter has been off to a rocky start. After Elon Musk’s latest update to allow people to get verified by paying a subscription fee of $8, many celebrities and sports stars like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have been getting duped by fake accounts. And this has led the billionaire owner to announce massive changes to Twitter’s policy going forward.
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The new verification subscription allows Twitter users to have a blue check next to their usernames, just as verified accounts do. However, this feature, perhaps unsurprisingly, has so far heavily been used to trick people.
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People out here duping others on Twitter pretending to be LeBron James
One of the first tweets that rolled out was from a Twitter user pretending to be Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. The username was ‘@kIngjamez’ whose tweet ended up causing quite the chaos on social media.
May 25, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts against the Phoenix Suns during the second half in game two of the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | Courtesy: Reuters
The tweet from the fake LeBron James ID was, “I am officially requesting a trade. Thank you #LakersNation for all the support through the years. 💯 Onto bigger and better things! 👑 #ThekidfromAKRON #ImComingHome.”
Meanwhile, another fake account was created by a Twitter user for ESPN’s NBA Insider, Adrian Wojnarowski. The duplicate account tweeted that the Brooklyn Nets had decided to release their star point guard, Kyrie Irving.
While some fans didn’t fall for this duplicate account’s tweet, many did. Which has only resulted in more confusion among fans. And the new ownership has taken notice of these incidents and has given an update. It seems all of these accounts have since been suspended by the platform.
Elon Musk tweeted, “Going forward, accounts engaged in parody must include “parody” in their name, not just in bio.” Now, it won’t come off as a surprise that people ignored Musk’s instructions and continue to create accounts with the aim of duping people on Twitter.
Musk calls people out
He also added, “To be more precise, accounts doing parody impersonations. Basically, tricking people is not ok.” While some people may agree with him, there will likely be a few out there who would not agree with Musk, arguing that the new verification subscription is what has led to this happening in the first place.
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Musk will likely need to come up with some changes on the app’s end. And until he decides to take some drastic measures for the sake of Twitter users, the platform will perhaps end up losing its credibility.
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What do you think of Twitter’s new subscription fee? Do you think fake accounts of sports stars will likely continue now? Let us know in the comments below.