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Elon Musk Proposes Paid Twitter Verification Model

时间:2022-11-11 03:27:24

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Since taking ownership of Twitter, American billionaire Elon Musk1 has already proposed major changes for the social media service.

He has removed top leaders at the company. He said he plans to create a new "content moderation council" to decide what kinds of material or individuals should be banned from Twitter.

And Musk has proposed charging Twitter users who want verified accounts. The verification system has long existed on Twitter. It was set up as a process the company could use to verify whether a user's account and details were real. This was meant to help users avoid false Twitter accounts set up in someone else's name.

The system is often used by well-known individuals, such as world and business leaders, reporters and news organizations and people from the entertainment industry. Twitter currently puts a blue check mark next to the account names of verified users. Until now, the verification process has been free to users.

Musk recently sent out a tweet suggesting such a service might cost $8 a month. His tweet came as an answer to one sent by writer Stephen King, who expressed opposition2 to speculation3 that Twitter's new verification process might cost $20 a month.

King's tweet said, "If that gets instituted, I'm gone like Enron." Musk answered by tweeting, "We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely4 on advertisers. How about $8?"

Musk also suggested he plans to change the existing process for issuing verified accounts. He tweeted that he opposes Twitter's "current lords & peasants system" for deciding who gets verified. So far, Musk has not provided additional details about what the new verification process might look like.

The new Twitter chief also proposed giving verified account holders5 who pay the $8 additional service offerings. These could include the ability to post longer videos and being shown fewer advertisements.

An advisor6 to Musk, businessman Jason Calacanis, asked Twitter users on the service whether they would be willing to pay for being verified. More than 80 percent of users who took part said they would not agree to pay for verification. About 10 percent said they would be willing to pay $5 a month.

Calacanis said Twitter's current team already has a detailed7 plan in place "to reduce the number of bots," scammers and "bad actors" on the service, The Associated Press reported.

Musk has promised to reduce some of Twitter's content restrictions8 to support free speech. But he said last week that no major decisions on content or banned accounts will be made until the "content moderation council" is in place.

However, he did tweet that "anyone suspended for minor9 & dubious10 reasons will be freed from Twitter jail." Some experts see that statement, as well as his other recent tweets on the subject, as suggesting that he might make content decisions and unblock the accounts of some banned members.

Musk has already signaled support for some politicians on the political right who have called for fewer restrictions on Twitter users. One example is a Republican candidate for Arizona's secretary of state, Mark Finchem. The candidate credited Musk with helping11 him to begin tweeting again after his account was briefly12 suspended on Monday, the AP reported.

When asked by the AP why his account was suspended, Finchem said, "Perhaps you should reach out to Elon Musk. We were banned for an unknown reason, we reached out to him and 45 minutes later we were reinstated."

The timing13 of Musk's takeover has led to concern by some political experts that any changes he makes might influence the outcome of U.S. midterm elections, set for November 8.

Last week, a conservative podcaster shared examples of what he said showed how Twitter favored liberal voices and secretly sought to limit conservative opinions. Similar criticism has been common in the past, with Twitter's previous leaders repeatedly denying such allegations.

Musk reacted to the podcaster's examples by tweeting, "I will be digging in more today."

But some advertisers still have worries about Musk opening up Twitter to harmful content online. General Motors has said it will suspend advertising14 on Twitter as it observes the service. And others are facing pressure to look at their own plans.

Words in This Story

moderate – v. to make sure the rules of an internet discussion are not broken

verify – v. to prove that something is true

speculate – v. to guess about something that you have very little information about

institute – v. to start a plan, law, system, etc.

lord – n. a man of high social status

peasant – n. poor person who usually works in agriculture, often in a poor country

bot – n. a computer program designed to work automatically on the internet

dubious – adj. thought to be not completely true or unable to be trusted


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 musk v6pzO     
n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物,香猫
参考例句:
  • Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
  • She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。
2 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
3 speculation 9vGwe     
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机
参考例句:
  • Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
  • There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。
4 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
5 holders 79c0e3bbb1170e3018817c5f45ebf33f     
支持物( holder的名词复数 ); 持有者; (支票等)持有人; 支托(或握持)…之物
参考例句:
  • Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
  • It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识,才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事,同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。
6 advisor JKByk     
n.顾问,指导老师,劝告者
参考例句:
  • They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
  • The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。
7 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
8 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
9 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
10 dubious Akqz1     
adj.怀疑的,无把握的;有问题的,靠不住的
参考例句:
  • What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
  • He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。
11 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
12 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
13 timing rgUzGC     
n.时间安排,时间选择
参考例句:
  • The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
  • The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。
14 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

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