Post by Mya on Nov 13, 2022 13:05:00 GMT
Eli Lilly apologizes for parody tweet announcing free insulin
INDIANAPOLIS — For the past two days, pranksters on Twitter have created imposter accounts after Twitter launched a new verification service on Wednesday called “Twitter Blue.”
The service originally let people pay $7.99 to get a verified blue check mark, but on Friday that service appeared to be suspended.
Despite the pause, it didn’t stop a flood of misinformation on the social media site.
On Thursday, Eli Lilly had to clear up confusion about a fake tweet telling people their insulin was now free.
The message was posted from a made-up account with the username "@elilillyandco" that had a blue checkmark, symbolizing it was a "verified" Twitter account.
"We are excited to announce insulin is free now," the tweet read.
The tweet was posted at 1:36 p.m. EST Thursday and was liked and retweeted thousands of times. By 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the tweet had been been deleted by Twitter for violating the social media platform's rules.
An hour later, the account had been suspended entirely.
According to Snopes, the account that posted the tweet initially had the Lilly logo as its profile picture, adding to the apparent authenticity. That photo was removed and a comment identifying the account as an impersonation before the tweet was deleted altogether.
The account was created in August 2020 and had just one tweet before Thursday's post, according to its current timeline. The account's profile describes it as parody and satire.
Eli Lilly's official account, @lillypad, tweeted shortly after 4 p.m., apologizing for the earlier tweet.
"We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account," the tweet read.
www.wthr.com/article/news/health/eli-lilly-apologizes-for-parody-tweet-announcing-free-insulin-twitter-elon-musk-verified/531-41eb33cd-4503-4821-a125-c642b3c78e2f
INDIANAPOLIS — For the past two days, pranksters on Twitter have created imposter accounts after Twitter launched a new verification service on Wednesday called “Twitter Blue.”
The service originally let people pay $7.99 to get a verified blue check mark, but on Friday that service appeared to be suspended.
Despite the pause, it didn’t stop a flood of misinformation on the social media site.
On Thursday, Eli Lilly had to clear up confusion about a fake tweet telling people their insulin was now free.
The message was posted from a made-up account with the username "@elilillyandco" that had a blue checkmark, symbolizing it was a "verified" Twitter account.
"We are excited to announce insulin is free now," the tweet read.
The tweet was posted at 1:36 p.m. EST Thursday and was liked and retweeted thousands of times. By 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the tweet had been been deleted by Twitter for violating the social media platform's rules.
An hour later, the account had been suspended entirely.
According to Snopes, the account that posted the tweet initially had the Lilly logo as its profile picture, adding to the apparent authenticity. That photo was removed and a comment identifying the account as an impersonation before the tweet was deleted altogether.
The account was created in August 2020 and had just one tweet before Thursday's post, according to its current timeline. The account's profile describes it as parody and satire.
Eli Lilly's official account, @lillypad, tweeted shortly after 4 p.m., apologizing for the earlier tweet.
"We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account," the tweet read.
www.wthr.com/article/news/health/eli-lilly-apologizes-for-parody-tweet-announcing-free-insulin-twitter-elon-musk-verified/531-41eb33cd-4503-4821-a125-c642b3c78e2f