While Elon Musk continues to make changes to Twitter, the real-world consequences of his actions continue to play out. 🙃
Many had argued the “pay for verification” process was dangerous because it would be difficult to tell real accounts from fake. However, Musk went through with the change anyway…but is now having to backpedal on that decision several days later.
One of the primary reasons for that is because of what’s happening with the brand accounts of major companies. Not sure what we mean? Let’s check out a few examples.
Someone impersonating pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly on Twitter posted, “We are excited to announce insulin is free now.” For a company that’s in the business of selling a lot of insulin, that fake news was of grave concern for investors.
Did Twitter Blue tweet just cost Eli Lilly $LLY billions?
Yes. pic.twitter.com/w4RtJwgCVK
— Rafael Shimunov is on Mastodon (@rafaelshimunov) November 11, 2022
Additionally, a Lockheed Martin impersonator said it was stopping weapons sales in some countries, sending the stock down about 5%.
Lockheed Martin stock is down more than 5% a day after a Twitter Blue-verified account impersonated the defense company and said it was halting sales to certain countries, including the U.S.
Similar declines at Eli Lilly after an impersonator Twitter account. $LMT $LLY pic.twitter.com/TTQrmGUyCV
— David Slotnick david_slotnick@mastodon.world (@David_Slotnick) November 11, 2022
While it’s unclear whether the tweets sent these stocks lower, many say it’s too close to be a coincidence. Especially when you consider Eli Lilly’s peers like Sanofi were also dragged lower. 🤷
What is clear, however, is that Musk and the Twitter team have some major changes to make if they’re going to keep brands happy on the platform. Because as we now see, what happens on the platform can have real-world impacts. And they’re not always good ones.
The lesson for now – make sure to double-check those usernames. Safe Twittering, y’all. 😉