Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company clarified on Thursday that it is not offering free insulin, after a fake Twitter account impersonating the brand that was verified via Twitter Blue, a new subscription service introduced by Elon Musk, said it was, a sign that the new feature is exacerbating confusion and misinformation to spread on the platform.
Notably, a verified Twitter account posing as Eli Lilly tweeted Thursday afternoon, “We are excited to announce that insulin is now free.” The account, @EliLillyandCo, featured the Eli Lilly logo and a verified badge.
As soon as the tweet went viral, the stocks of Eli Lilly plummeted. As per a report by Entrepreneur, Eli Lilly was down slightly more than 4% in a 24-hour period by Friday afternoon, and 20 points in early trading.
On Friday, Eli Lilly and Company, the official one, in a tweet apologised for the inconvenience caused due to the ‘prank’.
“We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account. Our official Twitter account is @/LillyPad,” Lilly and Company tweeted.
We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account. Our official Twitter account is @LillyPad.
— Eli Lilly and Company (@LillyPad) November 10, 2022
Another ‘verified’ imposter account “LillyPadCo,” apologized for the previous impersonator, and claimed that it was the official account.
The second prankster added: “Humalog is now available for $400. We can do this whenever we want and there’s nothing you can do about it. Suck it .”
Apart from Eli Lilly, shares of prominent defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin dropped sharply after, a fake account with a verified checkmark accessed through Twitter Blue said that the company will to halting weapon sales in some countries.
The verified brand situation is getting out of control. Quick thread of twitter blue brands, and brands who might be pissed off at Elon right about now. pic.twitter.com/bZ9PSqZKtf
— Read Jackson Rising by @CooperationJXN (@JoshuaPHilll) November 11, 2022
Pranksters using Twitter Blue also targeted gaming companies Nintendo and Valve, as well as prominent athletes such as NBA star LeBron James (pretending to request a trade).
Notably, following the wave of impostor accounts, Twitter Blue was inaccessible on Friday.
Although these fake accounts have been suspended, the chaos continues. Recently, two executives, Yoel Roth and Robin Wheeler have reportedly resigned adding to the ongoing mess. Yoel Roth was Twitter’s head of moderation and safety.
Other than the resignation of top Twitter officials, Elon Musk has laid off 50% of Twitter’s workforce last week. Musk has also warned twitter employees that the company might go bankrupt if the cash burn is not stopped.
About the newly rolled out Twitter Blue
On November 5, Twitter began offering Twitter Blue for $8 per month. Initially, the feature is only available to iOS users in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Twitter Blue is available for $7.99 per month. It comes with a verification badge or a blue checkmark on the profile, limited advertisements and much more.
