---
title: One fake Tweet may have cost Twitter a lot
description: People bought verified check marks to cause Twitter chaos. It may have cost the platform millions.
---

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# [One fake Tweet may have cost Twitter a lot](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/11152022-eli-lilly)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Nov 15, 2022 8:57:03 AM

Twitter owner Elon Musk recently announced anyone could get a verified blue check for $8/mo. Chaos ensued.

Last Thursday, Eli Lilly and Co. appeared to tweet that insulin would be free, but it was actually someone posing as the pharma giant after purchasing a check mark.

**Then what?**

Eli Lilly disputed the tweet on its account, but the fake tweet remained up for hours — possibly because Musk laid off [~50%](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-06/twitter-now-asks-some-fired-workers-to-please-come-back?sref=3Ac2yX40) of Twitter’s staff.

Users, including [Sen. Bernie Sanders](https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1591167058917478400?), took the opportunity to point out that Eli Lilly has increased the price of the lifesaving drug by 1.2k% since 1996.

Eli Lilly shares dropped [4.37%](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/11/12/fake-eli-lilly-twitter-account-claims-insulin-is-free-stock-falls-43/?sh=5780c1e741a3) — a loss of [$15B+](https://www.thestar.com/business/technology/2022/11/11/eli-lilly-loses-billions-in-market-cap-after-verified-twitter-impostor-promises-free-insulin.html) — while several other “verified” accounts began parodying politicians and other companies.

On Friday, Twitter [paused](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/11/11/musk-halts-twitters-coveted-blue-tick-as-impostors-run-amok) its check mark program.

**It could be a costly joke…**

… for the [struggling](https://www.npr.org/2022/11/12/1136205315/musk-twitter-bankruptcy-how-likely) social platform.

Eli Lilly — which spends $100m+ annually in TV and digital ads — paused its Twitter spend, [per](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/14/twitter-fake-eli-lilly/) *The Washington Post*. So [have](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-bankruptcy-elon-musk-warns-executives-resign/) Mondelez, General Mills, United Airlines, and GM, among others.

**Not fun fact:** The RAND Corporation [found](https://www.rand.org/blog/rand-review/2021/01/the-astronomical-price-of-insulin-hurts-american-families.html) the average price for a vial of insulin is $12 in Canada, compared to ~$99 in the US.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/11152022-eli-lilly)

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