Fox News, MSNBC and CNN Lose Twitter Verification in Elon Musk’s Purge

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

As of Friday, April 21, several major media outlets including cable news networks Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, have no verification badge on Twitter  — despite the new gold check badge being afforded to some organizations.

The new Twitter verification system rolled out by CEO Elon Musk this month is subscription based, and there has been widespread outrage among previously verified media over the move that has essentially destroyed the original purpose of the verification system: to verify that an organization or person is who they say they are.

Previously, verification was obtained through an application, and a user had to be “authentic, notable, and active” to receive the blue check. Part of the purpose was to ensure that public figures or organizations could not be impersonated. Frank from Long Island could not pretend to be LeBron James by simply changing his name and avatar, for instance.

Under the new system, anyone who pays $8 per month will have a blue check on their profile.

Musk also rolled out color-coded badges with different designations, including a gold icon for Twitter Verified Organizations. Although there is a theoretical fee for that program of $1,000 per month, many outlets (including Mediaite) have had the badge applied without any fee.

Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, however, have no gold badge.

When the new system was brought online, many media outlets made a public show of refusing to be a part of Musk’s new strategy to monetize the company’s product.

The New York Times told Mediaite at the time that they wouldn’t pay.

“We aren’t planning to pay the monthly fee for check mark status for our institutional Twitter accounts,” a Times spokesperson said. “We also will not reimburse reporters for Twitter Blue for personal accounts, except in rare instances where this status would be essential for reporting purposes.”

Musk stripped the Times of their verification in apparent retaliation and compared the paper’s Twitter feed to “diarrhea.”

The Washington Post also said it would not be paying for Twitter Blue.

“The Washington Post will not pay for the Twitter Blue service as an institution or on behalf of our journalists,” the Post told Mediaite. “It’s evident that verified checkmarks no longer represent authority and expertise.”

Also at the time of the roll-out, Mediaite obtained an internal memo from CNN executive Athan Stephanopoulos, who oversees all of CNN Digital, who told staff the network would not be paying for Twitter Blue, except in some cases.

“As of right now, we do not plan to pay for Twitter Blue subscriptions for either our brand or individual accounts, except for a small number of select teams who need this verification as an essential part of newsgathering and reporting,” Stephanopoulos said. “Our flagship brand accounts will remain gold verified through the legacy program Twitter is offering, and employees will be notified by their manager if their individual verifications will be paid for by CNN.”

Stephanopoulos added: “We are working with Twitter to understand what tools they are offering to prevent misinformation and imposter accounts. CNN’s brand is the strongest and most recognized journalism brand in the world, and this presents unique issues for us to navigate with social platforms.”

On Thursday, “legacy” blue verification badges were finally removed, and now thousands of previously verified accounts have no designation whatsoever in the system.

So with no organizational gold and no legacy blue, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, NBC News, the New York Times, Politico, Salon, HuffPo, Vice News, and other major outlets have no badge.

Others, like Mediaite, Newsweek, the Daily Beast, Axios, CBS News, Rolling Stone, TMZ, Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker, The Atlantic, Time, The Washington Post, CNET, NewsNation, the Wall Street Journal, and ABC News have a gold check.

It’s unclear why certain organizations have some degree of verification while others do not, but the missing verification on the three main cable networks was the most immediate and prominently noticeable effect of Thursday’s badge purge among press outfits.

Representatives for the cable networks did not respond to requests for comment and Twitter no longer has an operational press department.