I have seen so many pro-Russian bot accounts with blue verified symbol. These accounts also get priority on their replies, which are positioned at the start of the tweet conversation compared to non-blue / non paying twitter handles, giving them a bigger amplification.

Whenever I see blue tick accounts now, I notice most of them have <1000 followers and have no authority in the subject matter and I ignore most of them. I have noticed a lot of right-wing handles, all having the blue tick and getting priority on spreading their misinformation as it was in this case.

Elon has broken the verified system on purpose to fit his new anti-government / anti-"woke" agenda.