'A Serious Concern': Journalist Paints a Harrowing Picture of What's to Come With Twitter Blue After Her Account Is Cloned Jacquelyn Melinek alleged that a Twitter account posing to be her copied all of her information — then blocked her.
By Emily Rella
The future of Twitter seems to be rather grim as news continues to pour in about dwindling valuation, leaked source coding, and, now, what the removal of legacy verified checkmarks could mean for public figures on the platform.
Techcrunch journalist Jacquelyn Melinek showed the reality of what could happen to legacy verified users after a Twitter account stole her identity, created a copycat account, followed her followers, then blocked her shortly after.
Related: Twitter To Begin Removing Legacy Blue Checkmarks Next Week: The End of an Era
"I know a lot of people joke about Twitter Blue, and honestly I don't want to pay for it, but this account copied everything about my bio, followed people I know, then blocked me," she wrote, alongside two screenshots of the fake account.
I know a lot of people joke about twitter blue, and honestly I don't want to pay for it
— Jacquelyn Melinek (@jacqmelinek) March 28, 2023
but this account copied everything about my bio, followed people I know, then blocked me lol
once i (and others) lose blue checks, ID verification will be a serious concern
sigh pic.twitter.com/F8TCfWIGvr
She noted that Musk's new verification overhaul is a "serious concern" and, in a follow-up Tweet, urged followers to report the account and reminded them to beware of copycats that ask for money or are "non-story related."
Though Melinek's situation is only one example, it paints a picture of what can happen in the weeks to come as users will be forced to purchase Twitter Blue for $7.99 a month to keep their checkmarks, which then begs the question of how legitimate those checkmarks will even appear to users trying to source public figures. The fake account can buy a checkmark, and no one would know who is who.
In an attempt to curb some of these issues, Twitter gave gold checkmarks to verified businesses and organizations and will allow some public figures or employees affiliated with those businesses to keep their legacy checkmarks at no cost.
Still, this means independent contractors, freelancers, influencers, and even celebrities who don't have a direct affiliation with a company may be out of luck.
It stands to be seen what will ensue when Musk begins the rollback of legacy checkmarks on April 1.
