Twitter verification trolls targeted the pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, falsely announcing that 'insulin is free' before claiming it would cost $400-per-vial
Advertisement
Pete Syme
Nov 11, 2022, 20:25 IST
Twitter trolls used Elon Musk's paid verification feature to mock the pharmaceutical industry.Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Gotham/FilmMagic
Two Twitter accounts pretended to be insulin-producing pharma firm Eli Lilly and Company.
"Insulin is free now," one of the accounts tweeted, gaining 11,000 likes.
Advertisement
Two Twitter users bought verification to impersonate a pharmaceutical company and pretend that insulin was being given away for free, seemingly satirizing the long-running debate over the price of the drug in the US.
Both accounts pretended to be Eli Lilly and Company, who introduced the world's first commercially available insulin product – a necessity for people with diabetes. According to Fortune, the insulin Humalog is Eli Lilly's biggest revenue driver.
On Thursday, an account with the username "EliLillyandCo" tweeted: "We are excited to announce insulin is free now."
Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More
Its blue tick made the account look official, as it previously marked legitimate accounts before Elon Musk let users purchase one for an $8 monthly Twitter Blue subscription.
The fake tweet got around 11,000 likes before the impersonator was suspended.
Advertisement
The real company then apologized for the "misleading message from a fake Lilly account" and added that users should only trust the "LillyPad" account. Twitter's font also means trolls can use a capital I instead of a lower-case L to appear similar.
Another troll added to the confusion by verifying the account "LillyPadCo," and similarly apologizing for the previous impersonator, using the same wording and claiming that it was the official account.
The second pretender added: "Humalog is now $400. We can do this whenever we want and there's nothing you can do about it. Suck it."
An investigation by Congress released last December found that several companies have been able "to get away with outrageous prices and anticompetitive conduct" because Medicare isn't allowed to negotiate for lower prices. Hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli achieved infamy in 2015 when he raised the price of an antiparasitic drug from $13.50 to $750.
Eli Lilly told Insider it was "in conversations with Twitter
{{}}
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.