Report: Elon Musk’s X Provides Premium and Paid Services to Terrorist Organizations
According to a new report by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), Elon Musk-led X (formerly Twitter) offers premium paid services to two leaders of a US-designated terrorist group and several other government-sanctioned organizations.
The report identified more than a dozen X-accounts for US-sanctioned entities with a blue checkmark, which requires the purchase of a premium subscription. X offers premium accounts various benefits along with the checkmarks, including the ability to send longer text and videos and better visibility.
According to the report, 28 verified accounts belong to individuals and groups identified by the US government as a threat to national security. This group includes two Hezbollah leaders, accounts linked to Yemen’s Houthis, and state-run media accounts from Iran and Russia.
18 of those accounts were verified after X started charging for verification in April last year.
“The fact that X requires users to pay a monthly or annual fee for a premium service suggests that X engages in financial transactions in these accounts, which may be a violation of US sanctions,” the report said.
As noted in the report, X’s own policies prevent users from paying for premium services. Some of the identified accounts contained advertisements in their replies. “Some checkmark accounts associated with US-sanctioned communities had advertisements in their post replies, raising the possibility that they could receive a cut of their ad revenue,” the report said.
When TTP investigators asked about the accounts, X’s representative said they were looking into the matter, but did not comment. “Hours after this report was published, X removed all checkmarks mentioned in the report and suspended one account of the Iranian-backed Harakat al-Nujaba militia,” the report said.
The accounts of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels were among those to lose their blue ticks.
However, X shared a statement from the company’s @Safety account that teams have reviewed the TTP report and are “acting as necessary.”
“Many of the accounts listed in the Tech Transparency report are not directly named on sanctions lists, while some others may have visible account checkmarks without receiving services that are subject to sanctions. We are always committed to ensuring that we maintain a secure and compliant platform,” the company wrote .
In X, blue checkmarks indicate that the account has paid for the Premium or Premium+ service level. The Premium tier costs $8 per month or $84 per year, while Premium+ costs $16 per month or $168 per year. Gold checkmarks indicate that the account has paid X to be a “verified organization”.
