Twitter blue parody tweet causes Eli Lilly massive losses in stocks
Twitter blue has caused the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly to suffer massive losses in shares after an impersonating account tweeted insulin would now be free in the US.
Problems on the social media platform Twitter has caused serious communication issues as users struggle to sign up for the new service Twitter blue which was launched several days ago.
The service which allows users to purchase a blue checkmark via monthly subscription suddenly vanished from iPhone apps, according to a report published by Verge on Friday.
When trying to sign up, the following automated message shows up: "Twitter Blue will be available in your country in the future. Please check back later."
As CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Friday morning that Twitter "hit all-time high of active users today," the problem with the service had emerged around the same time, and the causes are yet to be determined.
According to The Washington Post, an email was sent to Twitter employees on Thursday night stating the sign-ups would be temporarily disabled in an effort to "help address impersonation issues" and that company is working to "address impersonation issues."
In a striking example, one pharmaceutical company suffered massive losses in shares after an impersonating account tweeted insulin would now be free in the US.
Over a 24-hour period on Friday, Eli Lilly & Co. fell sharply 4.45%.
The impersonating account which uses the handle @EliLillyandCo had the same username and profile photo as the official Eli Lilly and Co account that uses the handle @LillyPad.
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
The parody account managed to purchase the checkmark via the service, successfully misleading users of the social media platform into believing the hoax.
For those who can't shut up about stocks under Biden, Eli Lilly has done nothing but go up since he was elected, till today that is. pic.twitter.com/Qxq5RmvrmU
— The fallacy of it all...🏳️🌈 (@TheFallacyOfIt) November 11, 2022
According to a study published by The Lancet in 2022, between 2007 and 2018, the cost of some insulin products has increased by more than 200%
In the year 2021, more than 31 million people in the US were without any healthcare coverage, exposing them to unaffordable insulin.
Read more: Study Says Diabetes Surging among Young Americans