Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., threatened Elon Musk after teaming up with the Washington Post on a story about a Twitter verified-account hoaxes.
"Fix your companies. Or Congress will," Markey tweeted to Musk on Sunday.
The Post’s San Francisco-based tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler penned last week’s piece, "We got Twitter ‘verified’ in minutes posing as a comedian and a senator," which admitted the paper collaborated with Markey.
Fowler explained that he was able to pay $7.99 for a Twitter Blue subscription that allowed him to create an account impersonating liberal comedian Blaire Erskine, complete with the blue checkmark that makes it appear like a legitimate account.
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"A blue check mark no longer means somebody is who they say they are — and that makes Twitter a much less reliable source of information," Fowler wrote. "Then I did my test again with the permission of a U.S. senator, Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.). In a few minutes, I got a blue check mark on an impersonation of the lawmaker, who has for years scrutinized tech giants in the Senate."
Markey appeared pleased with his involvement and quickly shared an image of a letter he sent to Musk.
"A @washingtonpost reporter was able to create a verified account impersonating me—I’m asking for answers from @elonmusk who is putting profits over people and his debt over stopping disinformation," Markey tweeted Friday, with a screenshot of his letter to Musk on the matter. "Twitter must explain how this happened and how to prevent it from happening again."
In his letter, Markey said the reporter was able to create the fake account and get verified by paying $8 under Musk's new rules. The senator blasted the new process as "lax" and "unacceptable."
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., threatened Elon Musk to fix his companies after teaming up with the Washington Post on story about a Twitter verified-account hoaxes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Markey also demanded details on the "process" for issuing paid-for blue checkmark verifications, how it differed from the free verification process that preceded it, and how the Washington Post reporter in question was able to obtain verification of a fake account.
The senator also slammed Musk in a follow-up tweet.
"One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree," Markey said. "Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online. Fix your companies. Or Congress will."
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Fowler retweeted Markey’s threat to Musk.
The Post did not immediately respond when asked if the paper’s management believes Fowler enlisting Markey is appropriate.
Markey’s office did not immediately respond to a series of questions, including whether it was the senator or the Washington Post reporter who came up with the idea to team up.
As popular right-wing Twitter account Libs of TokTok pointed out, several far-left activists then "took Senator Markey’s lead and used this hoax to threaten Elon that Congress will take action against him."
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and Musk are rival billionaires who have launched competing companies that are attempting to transform space transportation with Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin.