Twitter Gave a Fake Disney Junior Account That Uses Racial Slurs a Gold Checkmark Verification

variety.com:

K.J. Yossman Twitter’s verification woes continue. It appears the company inadvertently awarded a gold verification badge to a fake Disney account that has published racial slurs.

Twitter account @DisneyJuniorUK boasted a gold verification badge on the social media site, accompanied by a message reading “This account is verified because it’s an official business on Twitter.” (The account was suspended in the last hour after Variety contacted Disney.) In its pinned tweet, the account — which, due to its content and follower numbers, does not appear to be an official Disney account — has posted: “#FuckThatN****Elon, #KasherQuon and #MeowskullFeetFreaks.” (The original pinned tweet does not censor the racial slur.) The Twitter account has also posted tweets claiming that adult animated series “South Park” and “Family Guy” will soon be available on Disney Junior U.K.

Gold verification badges cost $1,000 per month, although the social media company has currently waived the fee for its largest advertising clients and most-followed brands.

The owner of the @DisneyJuniorUK account appeared to be as surprised at their new verification status as the account’s 2,628 followers, tweeting: “No fucking way.