An image appearing to show a tweet published by Twitter CEO Elon Musk stating that the platform will soon roll out so-called ‘Twitter Gems’ is fabricated.
The screenshot appears to show a tweet published via Musk’s official Twitter account (@elonmusk) on March 28, announcing the roll-out of gems that can be “used for one post or attachment” on the platform.
The tweet supposedly shows Musk stating that those who subscribe to Twitter Blue will get 250 gems a month for free, while unsubscribes would have to pay $5 for 100 gems.
Examples of the screenshot can be viewed (here) and (here).
There is no evidence that Musk made any such announcement.
The tweet is not viewable when searching via Musk’s Twitter account (archive.is/wip/JvxjG). The message similarly does not show up when analyzing archived versions of Musk’s account saved on March 28 (here), (here).
No such announcement is viewable via press statements released by Twitter (blog.twitter.com/).
Reuters found no news articles reporting on the supposed announcement (archive.is/wip/x7c3u).
The earliest iteration Reuters could find of the screenshot shared online stems from an account for Tom McKay, a reporter, who later stated that the screenshot is not real, archived (archive.is/wip/gGGV3).
McKay confirmed to Reuters that he created the screenshot, adding: “I thought it was a pretty obvious joke referring to pay to win mobile games.”
A representative for Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
VERDICT
Satire. The screenshot is fabricated, and Reuters found no evidence that Twitter plans to roll out ‘Twitter Gems.’
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work (here).
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.