Chris TrottierFeb 22, 2023

As @JosephMenn reports, Russian propagandists are eager buyers of Twitter Blue.

This is because Twitter Blue privileges their posts in Twitter's relevancy algorithm, ensuring their propaganda achieves more reach.

It also gives them a fancy blue badge.

Russian propagandists aren't the only bad dudes buying Twitter Blue. A few months ago, I discovered that the Taliban are also paying for the service.

Twitter Blue: loved by Putin and the Taliban!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/02/22/russian-propagandists-said-buy-twitter-blue-check-verifications/

Russian propagandists are buying Twitter blue-check verifications

As the Ukraine war enters its second year, the presence of accounts pushing Russian propaganda on Twitter has skyrocketed.

The Washington Post
Show threadKevin Davidson
@atomicpoet @JosephMenn It’s an idiotic and ill thought out scheme that’s practically designed to be gamed. If he’d kept (or listened to) the trust and security team they’d likely have done some threat modelling that would have predicted all of this. He doesn’t care or understand. He just wants those Sneetch dollars to inflate his ego.
Feb 22, 2023 at 8:28pmWeb