Foreign ministry spox decries 'selective censorship' after X strips him of blue checkmark
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei has censured X for “selective censorship” after the American social media platform removed his blue verification badge despite premium subscription.
"X has now removed the blue check from Iran's MFA Spokesperson's account, after stripping the Ministry and Minister's verified badges—despite our full Premium + payments," Baghaei’s Tuesday post on X read.
The move, he said, was "arbitrary de-verification" that fits "X's pattern of selective censorship and American digital piracy.”
Baghaei also underscored the line followed by the platform of suppressing the truth about the illegal war on Iran.
X did not immediately respond to the claim.
The trend of removing verification badges from Iranian officials began in February.
At the beginning, accounts belonging to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Ali Larijani, then secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, all lost their blue checkmarks.
Hundreds of accounts supportive of Iran’s resistance against the US-Israeli aggression have also been deleted without explanation.
X's verification policies have been a subject of controversy worldwide.
Since Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform in 2022, the company has faced criticism for arbitrarily removing verification badges and deleting accounts perceived as politically inconvenient.
The European Commission found that X's blue checkmark system violates the Digital Services Act, noting that "anyone can pay to obtain the 'verified' status without the company meaningfully verifying who is behind the account."
The Commission imposed a €120 million fine on the company in July 2024, and X has since been forced to submit remedies and compliance plans to European regulators.
Critics have pointed to the platform's inconsistent application of its policies, including the removal of verified badges from journalists, activists, and government officials from countries under Western sanctions.
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