Elon Musk's X sells blue checks to terrorists, report finds

The social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, continues to receive payments for premium services, including "blue check" badges, from individuals and organizations that are subject to American sanctions, including individuals associated with Hezbollah, the Houthi rebels, and militias in Syria and Iraq. This was reported by the Tech Transparency Project.

According to the report, despite previous warnings and contrary to actions taken last year following a similar report, when the identification badges were removed from certain accounts and some were suspended, accounts linked to these entities were able to quickly reacquire the blue check badges and have maintained them since. The badge, which is currently available as part of a premium service for $8 a month, provides advantages such as increased visibility in the algorithm, the ability to edit posts, and sharing longer videos.

The report lists over 200 accounts that are allegedly linked to terrorist groups or entities under sanctions that hold active identification badges. According to the organization's director, Katie Paul, "They are using premium services to amplify the impact of propaganda content. It’s not just a matter of a blue badge: it’s about exploiting infrastructure for the purpose of spreading propaganda, garnering support, and even raising funds."

Among the examples presented in the report, there is an active account of Subhi Tofayli, a founding member and former secretary-general of Hezbollah, who has been on the U.S. Treasury's sanctions list since 1995. The account, verified in October 2023, has a blue check mark, boasts over 40,000 followers, and frequently shares videos of his sermons.

Additionally, at least five senior officials among the Houthi rebels in Yemen, whose tags were removed in the past, have managed to reacquire identification tags. Their accounts, according to the report, have collectively gained over 820,000 followers, and some have even been identified as "identity-verified" – a process requiring the uploading of an ID and a selfie.

Moreover, the report indicates active use of some of these accounts of features such as "tips" and subscriptions for fundraising, as well as directing users to crypto wallets – a means enabling relatively anonymous money transfers.