The Loss of a Blue Check Causes Credibility to Be Lost
December 15, 2025
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
At first glance, either the EU is not happy with the Teslas purchased for official use, or Elon Musk is a Silicon Valley luminary that sets some regulators’ teeth on edge. I read “Elon Musk Calls for Abolition of European Union After X Fined $140 Million.” The idea of dissolving the EU is unlikely to make the folks in Brussels and Strasbourg smile with joy. I think the estimable Mr. Putin and some of his surviving advisors may break out in broad grins. But the EU elected officials are unlikely to be doing high fives. (Well, that just a guess.)
Thanks, Midjourney. Good enough.
The CNBC story says:
Elon Musk has called for the European Union to be abolished after the bloc fined his social media company X 120 million euros ($140 million) for a “deceptive” blue checkmark and lack of transparency of its advertising repository. The European Commission hit X with the ruling on Friday following a two-year investigation into the company under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which was adopted in 2022 to regulate online platforms. At the time, in a reply on X to a post from the Commission, Musk wrote, “Bulls—.”
Mr. Musk’s alleged reply is probably translated by official human translators as “Mr. Musk wishes to disagree with due respect.” Yep, that will work.
I followed up with a reluctant click on a “premium, you must pay” story from Poltico. (I think its videos on YouTube are free or the videos themselves are advertisements for Politico.) That write up is titled “X Axes European Commission’s Ad Account after €120M EU Fine.” The main idea is that Mr. Musk is responding with actions, not just words. Imagine the EU will not be permitted to advertise on X.com. My view is that the announcement sent shockwaves through the elected officials and caused consternation in the EU countries.
The Politico essay says:
Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, accused the EU executive of trying to amplify its own social media post about the fine on X by trying “to take advantage of an exploit in our Ad Composer.”
Ah, ha. The EU is click baiting on X.com.
The write up adds:
The White House has accused the rules of discriminating against U.S. companies, and the fine will likely amplify transatlantic trade tensions. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has already threatened to keep 50 percent tariffs on European exports of steel and aluminum unless the EU loosens its digital rules.
Fascinating. A government entity finds a US Silicon Valley outfit of violating one of its laws. That entity fines the Silicon Valley company. But the entire fine is little more than an excuse to [a] get clicks on Twitter (now, the outstanding X.com) and [b] the US government suggests that tariffs on certain EU exports will not be reduced.
I almost forgot. The root issue is the blue check one can receive or purchase to make a short message more “valid.” Next we jump to a fine, which is certainly standard operating procedure for entities breaking a law in the EU and then to a capitalist company refusing to sell ads and finally to a linkage to tariff rates.
I am a dinobaby, and a very uninformed dinobaby. The two stories, the blue check, the government actions and the chain of consequences reminds me of this proverb (author unknown):
“For want of a nail the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe the horse was lost;
For want of a horse the rider was lost;
For want of a rider the message was lost;
For want of a message the battle was lost;
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost;
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
I have revised the proverb:
“For want of a blue check the ads were lost;
For want of the ads, the click stream was lost;
For want of a click stream, the law suit was lost;
For want of a law suit, the fine was lost;
For want of the fine, the US influence was lost;
For want of influence, sanity was lost;
And all for the want of a blue check.”
There you go. A digital check has consequences.
Stephen E Arnold, December 15, 2025
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