Numerous neo-Nazi, white supremacist, anti-LGBTQ and other extremist accounts were still on Twitter later Friday, courtesy of owner Elon Musk’s new system involving purchased blue check marks next to their names.
The “premium” Twitter Blue service — which handed out “verification” blue checks to anyone paying $8 a month beginning Wednesday — was suspended Friday after the social media platform was inundated by imposter accounts that had been “verified” by Twitter.
“Twitter accounts created on or after Nov. 9 will be unable to subscribe to Twitter Blue at this time,” said a Twitter statement.
Fake accounts included ones for George W. Bush, Donald Trump and Nintendo. Those appeared to no longer be on Twitter. But the far-right accounts with blue check marks were still on later Friday, Gizmodo was the first to report.
Many of the accounts had violated Twitter’s rules or had shown a history of spreading conspiracy theories and hate speech, Media Matters reported Friday.
Extremist accounts on Twitter with “verification” check marks Friday included Libs of Tik Tok — which baselessly accuses the LGBTQ community of pedophilia — and Gays Against Groomers, which attacks parents of transgender children online.
One Twitter outlaw with a blue check Friday was white nationalist Jason Kessler, an organizer of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 when then-President Donald Trump insisted there were “very fine people on both sides.”
Ironically, Twitter revamped its blue check-mark system after a deluge of complaints over Kessler’s “verification” at the time. All it took this week was an $8 payment from Kessler to Twitter.
Notorious neo-Nazi Richard Spencer also sported a blue check mark on his Twitter profile.
Both accounts were up Friday night.
Spencer is perhaps best known for leading a Nazi salute hailing Trump by members of the far-right National Policy Institute in 2017. Spencer, who was president of the organization at the time, shouted, “Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!” Trump was not there. (Check out the video below.)
Both Spencer and Kessler were found liable in a massive civil suit last year for conspiracy to intimidate, harass or commit acts of violence at the Charlottesville rally.