Elon Musk Removes New York Times Golden Verification Badge On X
Elon Musk removed the golden verification badge for the New York Times' official X account amid the outlet publishing a series of falsehoods related to the Israel-Gaza war.
The golden badge distinguishes accounts that are "official organizations" from those that purchased the available-to-all users blue badge.
The Times now has just a blue badge.
The outlet complained to the Washington Post on Thursday that the social media service removed the badge without notice."
"X continues to provide no information or explanation for any of these moves," said a spokesperson.
Speaking of information, this week, the Times was among the first major outlets that falsely attributed Israel responsible for the explosion at the Gaza Strip hospital. The reporting also added that over 500 people had died.
The source? The Hamas terrorist organization.
But as facts became more clear, the Times opted not to issue a correction but instead stealth-edit its original article:
There was a time that the Times would've waited for the facts, corroborated its sourcing, and prided itself in providing only sound information about a topic as serious as a war.
Those days are gone. Long gone.
The New York Times has exposed itself compromised and unreliable on nearly every major news story over the last decade.
The Times claimed Trump colluded with Russia to rig the 2016 election. The outlet called the Hunter Biden laptop report "Russian disinformation." Times' journalist said Covid-19 originated from bats and pangolins, and that the vaccine would prevent infection.
Each of the stories proved to be propaganda, and talking points from the DNC.
As Elon Musk said in August, "The 'New York' Times is a declining, once-powerful, but fundamentally doomed to be regional & increasingly archaic legacy publication."
There should be strikes on how much false information an outlet can publish before losing its golden badge. Pick a number, the Times has surpassed it.
As has the Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, and Associated Press.