Verified Bush and Tony Blair Profiles Make Twitter Mask ‘completely unusable’

Verified Twitter accounts with blue checkmarks bearing the profile names of former President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair recall the Iraq war on Wednesday.

“I miss killing Iraqis,” Bush wrote on Twitter.

(Image: Twitter)

Blair’s profile replied: “Same tbh”.

(Image: Twitter)

Of course, previous world leaders didn’t really remember their 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Instead, one or more anonymous users have been mocking new Twitter owner Elon Musk’s updated verification process, which is available to those paying $8 per month. They set up usernames that resemble those of Bush and Blair, then sign up for the paid system to earn a blue check mark.

To the casual observer, their exchange could have looked real.

As the fake Bush file later explained:

“You’re all missing the eight bucks point. Making this app completely unusable is a cheap price, and I suppose he’ll quickly learn we can get a refund on the credit cards we used if he suspends us a month ago.”

(Image: Twitter)

Critics fear that the new verification system will facilitate the spread of misinformation and make it easier to impersonate others, especially those public figures who refuse to pay the monthly fee.

Musk has pledged to suspend profiles that impersonate others.

Twitter deactivated both fake accounts within hours of the posts.

This article originally appeared HuffPost It has been updated.

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