The social network X (Twitter) removed for a few hours the verification badge from the New York Times. The company owned by Elon Musk decided to remove the media outlet's gold verification checkmark.
According to the Washington Post, this occurred on Tuesday without prior notice. The account, which has 55 million followers, does not currently have its gold verification badge, as Voz Media was able to verify.
Spreading misinformation about the war in Israel
The New York Times lost its gold verification checkmark a few days after publishing misinformation about the war in Israel against Hamas terrorists. The newspaper published information claiming that the Israeli Army had bombed the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza, killing 500 people. However, this information turned out to be completely untrue. There was no Israeli attack, the hospital was not affected and not even the death toll was real. In short, the New York Times accepted information spread by Hamas terrorists, which numerous media outlets classify as credible sources.
Subsequently, the New York Times changed its headlines and removed the part that stated that the information came from Israel. By then, this information and that of numerous other major media outlets had already spread around the world.
Removing its verification badge again
In April, after Musk bought the company for $44 billion, X put an end to its system of awarding badges to politicians, journalists and other public figures whose identities it had previously verified. Instead, the company launched a payment system that allows anyone who pays $8 a month to have a blue checkmark next to their name. With this new system, organizations can pay $1,000 a month for a gold verification checkmark.
At the time, after the New York Times refused to pay the monthly fee, Musk decided to remove its badge. The Times was the first major account to lose its verification. However, X later reinstated the newspaper's checkmark as well as those from accounts that refused to pay or said they didn't want it.
