This week, the New York Times revealed that X has received money from terrorists in exchange for verified subscriptions. Meanwhile, in the clown square formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk is playing the annoying billionaire’s version of “men will literally do the dumbest shit possible instead of going to therapy.”
On February 14, the New York Times ran a story about a recent Tech Transparency Project report, which found that X received money from terrorist groups and other entities barred from doing business in the U.S. in exchange for verified subscriptions. The social media platform, which underwent a sloppy rebrand as X when Elon Musk acquired it, “has taken payments from accounts that include Hezbollah leaders, Houthi groups, and state-run media outlets in Iran and Russia.” For $8 a month, users can pay X for a verified account, giving them a blue checkmark next to their username and higher placement in user feeds.
The company responded with a boilerplate statement and removed checkmarks on several of the 28 accounts identified by the Tech Transparency Project. Elon Musk predictably responded by ignoring the allegations and acting like a shithead—specifically, picking a fight with Stephen King and making transphobic “jokes.”
Following the report, King posted, “According to the New York Times, terrorists may be paying for blue check marks on Twitter (I refuse to call it X).” King isn’t alone—most people still refer to the social platform as Twitter, which is easy to do when the domain name is still Twitter.com.
In response, Musk made a comment about “deadnaming,” equating King’s refusal to call the platform by its new name to the offensive act of intentionally using a transgender person’s former name instead of the name they prefer.
Right-wing trolls on TWITTER.COM jumped on Musk’s rickety bandwagon to parrot his lazy “joke,” not realizing that there’s no prize for being the loudest clown in the car—you’re still riding in the clown car.
In case you need reminding: Musk has been estranged from Vivian Wilson, his transgender daughter, since she publicly came out and changed her name in 2022.
(featured image: Kayla Oaddams, WireImage / Astrid Stawiarz, Getty Images)
