Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is reportedly among a VIP group of Twitter users who have their accounts monitored and offered increased visibility, according to documents obtained by Platformer.Zoë Schiffer, Platformer’s managing editor, cited internal documents from Twitter that listed 35 VIP users who have their posts monitored and promoted for greater visibility.
Twitter began notifying users who were verified under the previous company’s ownership that their blue check marks would be taken away unless they paid became paid subscribers at approximately $8 a month, the site claims.
“It’s more about treating everyone equally,” Elon Musk said in a response to William Shatner on Monday. “There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities imo.”
Despite Musk’s call for equality, Platformer argues that “for months, the platform has maintained a list of around 35 VIP users whose accounts it monitors and offers increased visibility alongside Elon Musk…The list spans the political gamut and also includes several journalists and celebrities.”
LeBron James was the first name that Platformer included in the list, along with Daily Wire founder and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and President Joe Biden, among others.
“Twitter engineers have ensured that tweets by these VIP users will automatically be more visible than others…The VIP users’ tweets also bypass a Twitter algorithm which prevents too many posts from a particular user from being viewed,” wrote Business Insider’s Aditi Bharade.
LeBron James certainly has a huge Twitter following and his posts are easily visible, but it’s hard to truly verify Platformer’s claims without the documents being released publicly.
James made his return from a right foot injury on Sunday, but couldn’t help LA make it four wins in a row; the Lakers were defeated 118-108 by the Chicago Bulls.
The alleged Twitter VIP finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists over 29 minutes.
