NYC To Impostor Government Twitter Account: '(Gray) Check Yourself'

NEW YORK CITY — Whether New York City's official Twitter account is legit isn't so black-and-white anymore after the social media company Thursday removed blue checks that verify high-profile users' identities.

City agencies' Twitter accounts had to post a flurry of messages to prove to New Yorkers that they're the real deal after the controversial blue check purge.

The long-in-the-works change has prompted fears that any random user can easily impersonate a public figure, company or governmental agency, made even more confusing with the option to purchase of a blue checkmark.

And that's apparently what happened to New York City's official Twitter account after it lost its blue check.

After the city's @nycgov account posted that it is authentic, a user with a similar handle claimed that it was the legitimate voice of the Big Apple's government on Twitter. The impostor's cheeky post prompted a mic drop response from @nycgov, which cattily pointed out only one account now has Twitter's gray check reserved for government sources.

"(Gray) Check yourself," the tweet states.

(Gray) Check yourself. pic.twitter.com/xfIZPd8uYy
— City of New York (@nycgov) April 21, 2023

City Hall officials told Patch they did not complain to Twitter, but the impersonating account was seemingly gone just hours later. Officials pointed residents to their website for a list of all official social media accounts.

For Patch readers who are confused by all this: welcome to Elon Musk's Twitter.

Since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last year, he has overseen a slew of changes that critics argue have made the social media company worse, or even potentially harmful to society.

Twitter has fewer users than other social media companies such as Facebook and Instagram, but carries an outsize influence in public discourse because of its popularity with celebrities, journalists and high-profile elected officials such as former President Donald Trump (at least until he was kicked off after the Jan. 6 insurrection).

Musk has railed against blue checks as a "corrupt" status and told high-profile users they could keep them only for a fee, ranging from $8 a month for individuals to a $1,000 monthly starting price for organizations.

The subscription model's introduction in 2022 wreaked havoc on Twitter. In November, an impersonator tanked pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly's stock price by Tweeting a fake announcement that "insulin is free now," Forbes reported.

Major brands and celebrities like McDonald's, Nintendo and Rudy Giuliani went viral for bogus tweets made by impersonators.

The blue check switcheroo hasn't pleased many high-profile users, such as author Stephen King and actor William Shatner, who aren't keen on paying for — as Shatner put it — "something you gave me for free."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, responding to the city's "check yourself" tweet, raised other concerns.

"Jokes aside, this is setting the stage for major potential harm when a natural disaster hits and no one knows what agencies, reporters, or outlets are real," she tweeted.

"Not long ago we had major flash floods. We had to mobilize trusted info fast to save lives. Today just made that harder."

Ocasio-Cortez's concerns were met with a biting — and arguably bigoted — response from controversial Council Member Vickie Paladino, who claimed the city pours hundreds of thousands of dollars on "drag queens."

"I think we have the eight bucks a month for such a crucial and lifesaving verification, no?" Paladino tweeted.

"If the effectiveness of our government comms depends on an $8 Twitter checkmark, we’re in big trouble. Or we could shell out eight bucks. Either way it’s a dumb thing to freak out about."

It’s not. I made a sarcastic comment because AOC was hyperventilating that with the checkmark gone, people might die in a natural disaster or something.

I was just pointing out how silly that was. If the effectiveness of our government comms depends on an $8 Twitter checkmark,…
— Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (@VickieforNYC) April 21, 2023

The Associated Press contributed to this report.