What is happening on X? Allegations of blue checkmark sales to organization members

A report prepared by the non-profit Tech Transparency Project (TTP) alleges that X (formerly Twitter) has sold premium subscriptions to individuals subject to US sanctions, including leaders of Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US.

The TTP report finds that 28 accounts granted verification checkmarks under owner Elon Musk's paid verification plan have bypassed rules stating that they are officially prohibited from using this plan.

IS TERROR SUPPORT BEING PROVIDED?

The TTP report comes to the fore after the Supreme Court ruled last year that the platform, known as Twitter, was not responsible for aiding a terrorist attack. The allegations raise new questions about how strictly social media platforms should vet their users.

The TTP report lists all the sanctioned entities verified on Twitter. The wide range of names includes:

• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's account, which has more than 93,000 followers, is listed as “ID verified,” meaning the account holder has submitted a government-issued ID to X.
• Iranian state news outlet Press TV, one of two accounts (along with Russia's Tinkoff Bank) that TTP found with the yellow “verified organization” checkmark, which typically costs $1,000 per month, during its research.
• Al-Saadi Gadhafi, son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who apparently also subscribed to Musk's posts for a time.
• Ansarallah, the Yemeni group more commonly known as the Houthis.

TTP claims that most of the accounts were verified after Musk took over Twitter and required paid verification. However, it is noted that some accounts paid to retain their old verification checkmarks.

WERE BLUE CHECKMARKS GIVEN FOR FREE?

X issued a statement denying TTP's allegations, stating that the accounts adopted a secure approach and that accounts not on sanctions lists could possess verification checkmarks.

However, TTP claims that X may have provided verification checkmarks to terrorist groups for free and may also be contributing to prohibited goods and services.

It is also noted that Twitter has faced legal battles in the past over allegations of supporting terrorist groups. However, the court decided not to hold Twitter liable. Now, the question is whether Twitter has accepted digital currency from banned individuals. The court noted that conscious cooperation is different from failing to implement policies.