Twitter To Protect Celebrities With Verification Service

Yesterday, the founders of Twitter, the micro-inanity site, announced that it is going to introduce a verification service in order that people who feel the need to follow the vacuous brain-dribbles of so-called ‘celebrities’, are not being cheated by impostors pretending to be those celebrities.

As, one or other, of the co-founders of Twitter told The Rope:

There is the very real danger that, instead of the empty-headed drivel one would expect from a celebrity, one of these impersonators may actually say something worth reading, insightful, or even interesting. Of course, Twitter is deliberately designed to make such a thing almost impossible, but the danger is always there. So, in order to make certain that the celebrity is who they claim to be, Twitter will – in future – make sure that each celebrity solemnly swears on their latest Tabloid Expose, that they are who they claim to be.

At first glance, it hardly seems to matter whether the inane wibble that fans follow actually comes from the purported celebrity or not. However, the PR guru, Max Cashupfront, explained why it is essential to know that a celebrity is who they claim to be:

What if one of these impersonators accidentally, or even deliberately, endorses a product in direct competition with a product the real celebrity actually advertises or endorses? For example, a popular use of Twitter is to tell everyone following you what you are having for breakfast, so if that fake celebrity mentions, say, the wrong brand of Cornflakes, the consequences could be catastrophic. Potentially, such actions could have a severe effect on that real celebrity’s market potential, and even – in extreme cases – their future earnings, which – in turn – could seriously affect the bank accounts of people like me, who represent them.

Cashupfront also pointed out that a fake celebrity could even direct followers to sites selling unauthorised merchandising, from which the real celebrity would receive no percentage whatsoever.

‘You must remember,’ Max Cashupfront said. ‘Most celebrities have only a brief period in the public spotlight, before they are forgotten or the fame drives them into unmarketable forms of mental breakdown. So, we – I mean, they - must make as much money as they can in that period, and anything like this that diverts money away from my percentage of their potential earnings should be stamped on immediately.’