[Update: The Intercept updated its report, noting that X confirmed that a policy to temporarily remove checkmarks from verified accounts that change their profile pictures was the issue here. UAW told The Intercept that their account’s profile picture was updated in conjunction with the walkout.]
Last night when the clock struck midnight, nearly 13,000 workers at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis went on strike after the so-called “Big Three” car companies failed to reach an agreement with United Auto Workers (UAW). By Friday morning, UAW discovered that X, the platform formerly known as Twitter—in what appeared to be a petty move by platform owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk—had stripped their account’s verified status, The Intercept reported.
Somebody intentionally designed a malicious system. Zero benefit of the doubt is warranted.
Why is it malicious? If you get verified and then change your profile then you’re not necessarily who you were verified as. It’s designed to prevent malicious actors from deceiving people.