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Twitter scrambles to curb spread of fake accounts

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| By AFP |

Twitter moved on Friday to curb fake accounts that have proliferated since Elon Musk’s takeover, suspending sign-ups for a new paid checkmark system and reinstating a gray “official” badge on some accounts.

The U-turn was the latest of a string of chaotic developments at the social network, which has lurched back and forth on the question of account verification since Musk’s $44 billion buyout late last month.

The @TwitterSupport account tweeted early Friday that a gray checkmark indicating an “official” account was coming back, only days after it was introduced — then almost immediately scrapped.

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“To combat impersonation, we’ve added an ‘Official’ label to some accounts,” the profile announced.

The rollout of the label appeared inconsistent: it appeared briefly then disappeared from the network’s own account, @Twitter.

By Friday morning, the firm had also disabled sign-ups for Twitter Blue, the feature touted by free-speech proponent Musk as bringing “power to the people” by offering ordinary users a verified blue tick — until then reserved for prominent accounts — for $8 per month.

An internal memo for Twitter staff, obtained by US media including The Washington Post, confirmed the feature had been temporarily disabled to “help address impersonation issues.”

In introducing the paid blue-check verification system, Musk had warned that Twitter would suspend fake accounts not clearly marked as parody. 

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But accounts impersonating public figures and businesses had continued to spread — with NBA star LeBron James and former British prime minister Tony Blair among those targeted. 

US drugmaker Eli Lilly was forced to issue an apology Thursday after a fake account — stamped with a purchased blue tick — tweeted that insulin was to be made available for free.

The fake account was removed, and the company put out a statement of apology.

The turmoil at Twitter has raised concerns about the potential for serious damage, should nefarious actors successfully pose as official representatives of powerful companies or government entities. 

And the disarray — which saw two more top security executives quit on Thursday — drew a rare warning from the Federal Trade Commission which said it was tracking the developments with “deep concern.”

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The same day, Musk informed Twitter employees the site was burning through cash dangerously fast, raising the specter of bankruptcy if the situation was not turned around.

The warning came a week after he fired half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees.

International

President Boric announces curfew following triple police homicide in Chile

Chile offers residency and Chilean nationality to Nicaraguan opponents

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has implemented a nighttime curfew in three municipalities of the Biobío region following the murder of three police officers. The Chilean leader emphasized that “criminals will answer to Chile and its justice system.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Boric stated that he made the decision “after discussing with the General Director of the Carabineros, the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Head of National Defense, and the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having also considered various alternatives and taking into account the needs of the ongoing investigation.”

He further detailed that “I have instructed to decree a curfew in the municipalities of Cañete, Contulmo, and Tirúa from midnight to 7:00 AM. Additionally, police and military presence will be intensified to our utmost capacity with joint patrols in the area.”

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International

President López Obrador meets with Astros and Rockies ahead of Mexico City Series

Last Friday, before the 2024 Mexico City Series between the Astros and Rockies at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with representatives from both teams.

Through his social media, the President shared his interaction with executives from the Houston and Colorado teams, as well as with Astros’ Mexican pitcher, José Urquidy.

“Yesterday (Friday), before starting the tour, I had breakfast with executives and friends from the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. There’s increasingly more baseball fever in our country,” López Obrador wrote.

The photos also featured former Mexican major leaguers Vinicio “Vinny” Castilla and Jorge de la Rosa, both of whom played for the Colorado team.

On Saturday night, the Houston Astros won the first game in the “capital inferno,” home of the Mexico City Red Devils, with a commanding score of 12 to 4.

This Sunday, the second game of the series will take place at AHH, with both teams arriving in Mexico on a losing streak. Another great Major League celebration is anticipated at the “fire diamond.”

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International

Social media star Om Fahad fatally shot in Baghdad

An Iraqi TikToker, previously sentenced to prison last year for posting content deemed “indecent” on social media, was fatally shot in Baghdad on Friday, according to two security officials.

Om Fahad, who had tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, gained fame for her videos featuring her in tight outfits dancing to Iraqi music, in a country that is predominantly conservative and patriarchal.

The young woman was shot by an assailant on a motorcycle while she was in her vehicle outside her home in central Baghdad, two security officials reported anonymously to AFP.

In February 2023, a court initially sentenced Om Fahad to six months in jail for “publishing various videos with indecent intentions that violate modesty and public morals.”

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