X Elon Musk abandoned the outdated user verification program back when the platform was still called Twitter. Since then X has been haven for disinformation And racism.
However, according to X's new head of product Nikita Bir, the site plans to overhaul the profiles in an attempt to restore user trust. In a message on X, Bir explained that the platform is currently testing a new profile display that shows what country the user is in, when they joined the site, how the user accessed X, and how many username changes have occurred on the account.
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X users can currently list their location on their profile. However, it appears that the new profile information page is not being created by the user. The platform will display the account location through the location from which the user is actually posting.
“When you read content on X, you should be able to verify its authenticity,” Beer wrote on X. “This is very important for staying informed about important issues happening in the world.”
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Beer says there will be “toggles” that will allow users to make certain information private to protect the privacy of certain users. However, Beer says that any information customized by the user will be highlighted so that other users know too. Beer also shared that they're experimenting with exactly what information to include in this section, so new account data may be added or removed as X tests the feature.
The blue verification badge was once an indicator that a user was a credible source on X. However, after Musk acquired the company, he removed the old verification system, which required the company itself to verify credible users such as politicians, journalists and celebrities. Now any user can pay 8 dollars per month to subscribe to X Premium and receive a blue confirmation badge. As a result, spammers and provocateurs have used their verified status as a weapon to spread scams and misinformation on the platform.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, provides similar types of information for certain pages and profiles on its platform. For example, a user can go to the About Us section of any Facebook page and see the country of origin of the users behind that page, as well as any name changes that have occurred on the page.
X will begin rolling out the new policy to “several” X employee profiles to get feedback, Beer said.
