Update 10:48am CT: After publication of this story by the Daily Dot, the account referenced below was suspended. Twitter did not respond to an inquiry about the account.
The original story appears below.
A Twitter user with a racial slur in their name expressed shock on Tuesday after the social media platform approved their account for verification.
The user, whose handle features the N-word, revealed that they had earned a blue check mark after subscribing to Twitter Blue.
As noted by BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh, the account, under the new guidelines set up by Twitter CEO Elon Musk, will also enjoy being promoted by the platform’s algorithm under the “For You” tab.
“It’s a brave new world out there,” the user said in response.
The Daily Dot is not embedding the user’s tweets, as it includes the racial slur.
Prior to Musk’s takeover of the social media company, verification was reserved for celebrities, journalists, and other users who could be targeted for impersonation. Now, in an attempt to make Twitter profitable, Musk has opened verification up to any user willing to pay a monthly fee.
The decision has led not only to an influx of impersonation accounts and scams but has allowed other notorious, previously banned users to promote their accounts.
As further noted by Sardarizadeh, just last week an openly neo-Nazi account that shares videos of themselves reading Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto was also approved for Twitter Blue.
The user likewise reacted with shock to Twitter’s decision.
“Largest openly National Socialist account on social media. Now verified. What a wild time to be alive,” the user wrote.
The decision, though shocking, is not surprising, as far-right trolls on the site have believed Musk will allow them more latitude on the site. In the wake of his purchase of Twitter, users immediately tested the boundaries, causing racial slurs on the site to spike.
