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Elon Musk makes drastic Twitter/X change for premium users · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast.
• 0:03
  This is a show where we discuss. The critical.
• 0:05
  Crossroads That Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and
• 0:09
  Neuralink, and I'm your Host Will Walden One.
• 0:12
  More thing before we start Google Podcasts is being
• 0:16
  discontinued by Google. So if you want to continue
• 0:20
  getting episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please check us
• 0:23
  out over at YouTube Music. Search us out over there and
• 0:27
  that's where you'll be able to find our our podcast through
• 0:31
  Google products. Thank you so much for
• 0:33
  understanding. I had no control over this.
• 0:35
  Google pulled the Google Podcast app off of Android, and I want
• 0:39
  to let you know where to continue finding the show over
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  at YouTube Music Search for Elon Musk podcast.
• 0:45
  Thank you so much. Elon Musk's X, the social media
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  platform formerly known as Twitter, is set to remove the
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  option for premium users to hide their blue checkmarks, a feature
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  that was once optional. Now this change was communicated
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  to users through a notification and the blue check mark,
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  previously a mark of authenticity and also status,
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  has transformed under Elon Musk's ownership into a symbol
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  that users could purchase, leading to a shift in the
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  perception among the platform's community.
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  Now, according to a recent update from X itself, the
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  ability to conceal one's blue check mark will soon be
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  discontinued. The platform stated.
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  The Hide Your Check Mark feature of X Premium is going away soon,
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  urging users to adjust their premium settings accordingly.
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  Now this marks a significant shift in how users can control
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  their visibility and association with the blue check mark.
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  Now the decision to make blue check marks mandatory for
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  premium users reflects A broader change in policy under Elon
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  Musk's direction. Initially, Musk critique the old
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  Twitter's Blue check system as a quote Lords and Peasants system,
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  only to reintroduce it in a different form where users could
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  pay a monthly fee for premium features including the blue
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  check mark. Think about that, if you have
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  the money, you can have a blue check mark or if you had the
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  status before, you can have the blue check mark.
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  Does that still make you a Lord If you have the money or the
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  status? That's up to you to decide.
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  Now this move has not been well received by all though as many
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  users expressed dissatisfaction stating they would not pay for
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  such a feature. The ability to hide the blue
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  check mark was heavily utilized last week when Musk decided to
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  automatically assign it to popular users, indicating the
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  user's reluctance to be openly associated with the paid status
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  symbol that we introduced in August of 2023.
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  The option to hide the blue check mark was intended to allow
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  users to subscribe to X Premium without public endorsement or
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  the stigma of having paid for their status.
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  This features removal, expected to occur less than a year after
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  its introduction, has sparked concerns about the increasing
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  influence and control exerted by Platform Policies over user
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  preferences. Now many influential and high
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  profile users on X now face a challenging decision, continue
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  using the platform with an openly displayed blue check
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  mark, or cease using this service altogether.
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  Now the new policy could potentially Dr. significant
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  numbers of X's content creators to alternative platforms such as
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  Threads, which have emerged as competitors in the social media
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  space. And the pattern of imposing
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  stark choices on users and affiliates is characteristic of
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  Musk's management style. Similar to past instances where
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  he has issued ultimatums to advertisers and product users,
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  this move can be seen as part of a broader strategy to reshape
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  the platform according to his own vision and his operational
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  philosophy. Now the timing of this policy
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  change coincides with X's recent promotion were accounts with
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  substantial number of verified followers were upgraded to
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  premium status at no additional cost.
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  And this gesture of goodwill is now juxtaposed with the removal
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  of a feature that many users valued for its privacy and
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  discretion. Now, the initial implementation
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  of the blue check mark was to signify verification and
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  authentic user profiles, which was a free feature before Musk's
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  takeover. Their transition to a paid
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  verification system has diluted the symbol's value, making it a
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  target for criticism and a tool for scammers and impersonators.
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  Now, furthermore, the platform's automatic distribution of blue
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  checks to certain users last week, regardless of their
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  consent, highlights the unpredictability and autocratic
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  nature of changes. Under Elon Musk, many of these
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  users, surprised by the unrequested verification, chose
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  to hide these checkmarks, a choice that will be soon
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  revoked. Now, the implications of this
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  policy change extend beyond user dissatisfaction, though it also
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  provides fertile ground for fraudulent activities, as
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  observed with the platform's recent issues around URL
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  manipulation. X's system, which automatically
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  changed mentions of the Twitter.com URL to x.com,
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  inadvertently facilitated phishing by allowing scammers to
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  exploit modified URLs. Our concerns escalated when
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  users noticed the automatic URL replacement on X's iOS app,
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  turning legitimate links into potential phishing traps.
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  Now, for example, the transformation of
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  netflitwitter.com into netflix.com in users posts did
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  not redirect to Netflix, but rather to the deceptive site
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  designed by scammers. Now the public's reaction was
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  swift, with warnings spreading about the dangers of these
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  altered URLs. 1 notable instance involved the user purchasing A
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  misleading domain to redirect visitors to a warning page,
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  thereby preventing potential phishing attacks.
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  Now, despite this backlash, though, X temporarily rolled
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  back the automatic URL change feature after public outcry and
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  media coverage, though concerns about similar issues persist.
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  This reflects the ongoing challenges of Musk's platform as
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  it faces and attempts to innovate while managing user
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  trust and safety. The series of policy shifts and
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  their execution under Musk's ownership illustrates how he
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  does broader, abrupt changes without telling anybody what's
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  going on and disregards user feedback or potential negative
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  feedback. Seems like Elon Musk just kind
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  of does what he wants to do. It's his platform.
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  He can do whatever he wants. Now.
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  This approach has led to a growing perception of X as a
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  platform where unilateral decisions are common and user
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  autonomy is increasingly restricted.
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  Now, as X continues to evolve under Musk's ambitious
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  directive, platform risks alienating a portion of its user
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  base who value transparency and control over their online
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  personas. Removal of the ability to hide
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  blue checks is just one example of policy changes that may have
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  lasting implications on the platform's community dynamics
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  and user engagement. Now, looking ahead, the
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  platform's direction under Musk will likely continue to stir
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  debate and scrutiny as it balances innovation with user
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  satisfaction. How X navigates these challenges
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  will be crucial in determining its position within the
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  competitive landscape of social media platforms going forward,
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  including threads, Facebook, et cetera.
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  So X decision to remove the ability to hide these blue
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  checks and the shift of the Twitter to x.com domain, well,
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  we're going to see where this leads, but hopefully they can
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  get the domain redirect figured out.
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  It's a kind of simple thing that they could be doing, but
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  apparently they messed this one up.
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  Maybe somebody's getting fired. I don't know.
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  Elon doesn't like when people mess up, so stay tuned.
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  We'll have more information about this on a day by day
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  ongoing basis. So thank you so much for this
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  thing. Hey, thank you so much for
• 7:50
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 7:52
  support. If you could take a second and
• 7:54
  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I'd greatly
• 8:00
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode and each.
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  Episode. Is about 10 minutes or less to
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  get you caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 8:09
  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stagezero and
• 8:15
  please take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you
• 8:17
  tomorrow.