Image source: WTHR

Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company, is the latest victim of a massive stock decline over the past few days.

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, the social media platform has significantly changed.

Account legitimacy has been the topic of conversation for weeks.

Now, anyone can acquire the blue checkmark, which is usually reserved for celebrities, politicians, and other personalities.

As a result, Twitter was responsible for Eli Lilly’s stock decline.

The tweet

A fake Eli Lilly account fooled people after the user subscribed to Musk’s new Twitter Blue offer, gaining the blue check mark.

The sight of the check mark led users to believe the account’s tweet.

“We are excited to announce insulin is free now,” said the fake Eli Lilly account.

Since the tweet gained wide-scale attention, the account went private and lost its verification checkmark.

The insulin maker saw its stock price take a sharp 4.5% decline hours after the misinformation.

Eli Lilly later clarified that insulin was not free with its official Twitter account.

Read also: Elon Musk to shift revenue from ads to Twitter Blue

The Twitter situation

The pharmaceutical company’s stock decline is just one of the many problems that have emerged after the change of subscription offers on Twitter Blue.

Initially, people bought the service to impersonate athletes and celebrities before it became a breeding ground for other impersonation and disinformation accounts.

Although it has already appeared on Twitter before, the new checkmark service has created more confusion.

Many users have tried to get their accounts as close to the original as possible.

As a result, Elon Musk’s new Twitter Blue service only adds to the platform’s disinformation problem.

Eli Lilly and Company is just one of many companies that are victims of identity theft, along with others such as:

• Defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin
• Oil company BP
• Produce distributor Chiquita

Read also: Aave CEO feels Twitter is unready for Web3 integration

Aftermath

Twitter is entering a new age, with more users buying verification checks to impersonate celebrities, brands, and athletes.

Users have also used impersonations to highlight the unethical histories of the brands they imitate.

While Eli Lilly and Company’s stock may have taken a hit, the price of insulin for individuals remains very high.

Reference:

Insulin producer Eli Lilly sees stock drop because of a fake blue check tweet