A watchdog group’s investigation discovered that terrorist group Hezbollah and different US-sanctioned entities have accounts with paid verify marks on X, the Elon Musk–owned social community that also resides on the Twitter.com area.

The Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a nonprofit that’s crucial of Big Tech corporations, stated in a report on Wednesday that “X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is providing premium, paid services to accounts for two leaders of a US-designated terrorist group and several other organizations sanctioned by the US government.”

After shopping for Twitter for $44 billion, Musk began charging users for check marks that have been beforehand supposed to confirm that an account was notable and genuine. “Along with the check marks, which are intended to confer legitimacy, X promises various perks for premium accounts, including the ability to post longer text and videos and greater visibility for some posts,” the Tech Transparency Project report famous.

The Tech Transparency Project means that X could also be violating US sanctions. “The accounts identified by TTP include two that apparently belong to the top leaders of Lebanon-based Hezbollah and others belonging to Iranian and Russian state-run media,” the report stated. “The fact that X requires users to pay a monthly or annual fee for premium service suggests that X is engaging in financial transactions with these accounts, a potential violation of US sanctions.”

Some of the accounts have been verified earlier than Musk purchased Twitter, however verification was a free service on the time. Musk’s resolution to cost for verify marks implies that X is “providing a premium, paid service to sanctioned entities,” which can increase “new legal issues,” the Tech Transparency Project stated.

Report Details 28 Check-Marked Accounts

Musk’s X fees $1,000 a month for a Verified Organizations subscription and final month added a basic tier for $200 a month. For people, the X Premium tiers that include verify marks value $8 or $16 a month.

It’s attainable for US corporations to obtain a license from the federal government to have interaction in sure transactions with sanctioned entities, however it would not appear seemingly that X has such a license. X’s rules explicitly prohibit customers from buying X Premium “if you are a person with whom X is not permitted to have dealings under US and any other applicable economic sanctions and trade compliance law.”

In all, the Tech Transparency Project stated it discovered 28 “verified” accounts tied to sanctioned people or entities. These embody people and teams listed by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals.

“Of the 28 X accounts identified by TTP, 18 show they got verified after April 1, 2023, when X began requiring accounts to subscribe to paid plans to get a check mark. The other 10 were legacy verified accounts, which are required to pay for a subscription to retain their check marks,” the group wrote, including that it “found advertising in the replies to posts in 19 of the 28 accounts.”

X issued the next statement on Wednesday: “X has a robust and secure approach in place for our monetization features, adhering to legal obligations, along with independent screening by our payments providers. Several of the accounts listed in the Tech Transparency Report are not directly named on sanction lists, while some others may have visible account check marks without receiving any services that would be subject to sanctions. Our teams have reviewed the report and will take action if necessary. We’re always committed to ensuring that we maintain a safe, secure and compliant platform.”

X Removes Some Check Marks

An account with the deal with @SH_NasrallahEng seems to be tied to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, the TTP report stated. The account had a verify mark once we first checked it earlier Wednesday, however it has since been eliminated.

“The account, which has 93,600 followers, posts English-language Hezbollah messages and memes disparaging Israel and the US. It was created in October 2021 and verified in November 2023, the same month that Nasrallah threatened further escalation of Israel’s war with Hamas,” the report stated.