Industry Insights: April Fool's Day is coming up...here's how to be prepared

Good morning and happy Saturday!

It was announced last week that Twitter is going to start phasing out the legacy verified accounts (i.e. the legitimate verified accounts) and replace them with anyone willing to pay some cash each month to pretend to be someone they aren't...and it's going to happen on April 1.

Adam Weinstein @AdamWeinstein

"Hey guys, if we just went ahead and removed verification badges from all the accounts of major media organizations, corporate brands, NGOs, professional athletes, and newsgatherers... is there a particular date of the year when it would be, like, *really* bad to do that?"

Aside from how this action will undermine the entire purpose of an account being verified -- i.e. you know that you are interacting with a trusted, verified source -- that this is happening, of all days, April Fool's Day, is downright laughable.

Not funny. But laughable.

Aly Walansky alywalansky.substack.com @alywalansky

This. The verification was to show who was a tried, legitimate source. Now it shows who paid $8 to pretend they are a trusted source. It's SO dangerous. And they are doing the changeover on April Fool's Day, no less.

Cessie Cerrato @Cessiec

From a PR perspective, those of us in the industry will know a brand or person has paid for it- so I think it will provide less credibility. Also depends on how @Twitter plans on validating the authenticity behind the people and brands paying for verification. https://t.co/NYmJUtlOai

So, on a day when people are already sharing information that isn't true, we'll now make it easier for them to pretend they are someone they aren't in order to look more trusted when sending their misinformation.

Real smart idea, guys.

While this is something that REALLY concerns me -- and will lead to all sorts of tragedy and dangerous situations -- it also brings up the issue of April 1 in general...and general misinformation on the internet.

I’ve had a verified account across all the platforms for years now, and that’s something that means something to me. It is a sense of responsibility — I know that that checkmark signifies that I am a legitimate news source and someone that can be trusted. But that anyone can now pay $8 a month and pretend to be a doctor…a government official…an expert in their field.

It’s terrifying.

But this is actually not where I am going with today’s newsletter…

I realize that April Fool's Day is all in good fun, and I'm all for being pitched silly food mashups that aren't actually happening in the name of a fun time. The trouble exists when things are posted online that people don't know aren't true, and that leads to confusion and misinformation.

Personally, I've always felt the BEST April Fool's Day pitches are the ones that are pitched with a wink-wink-nudge-nudge -- we're all in on the joke. Remember, media is a realm that has an entire existence based on truth and credibility -- whenever we veer away from that, that's when we get into trouble.

So, let's talk about the right and wrong way to handle April 1 -- but also, avoid social media information regardless of the date on the calendar. 

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