Twitter has suspended its recently relaunched blue tick verification system after the social media platform was inundated with a wave of impostor accounts.

The premium “Blue Twitter” The service is available to everyone for £6.99 per month in the UK ($8 per month in the US) – having previously been used to authenticate the accounts of public figures, including celebrities and journalists, which had been verified and confirmed to be genuine.

But the revamped model gave credence to a host of fake accounts – with a parody claiming to be Jesus Christ being checked out.

The person behind the satirical account, who prefers to remain anonymous, started it 14 years ago in 2006.

“Even though I’ve had it for so long, I was never sure I could get it checked out,” he told Business Insider.

“I’ve asked for verification before and been rejected, but when Elon Musk changed the verification rules and you could subscribe to Twitter Blue and buy a verified check, I knew this was finally my hour. It was immediate. I purchased the Twitter Blue subscription, and when I finished confirming Apple Pay and reopened Twitter, I was verified.”

Another fake account claimed the insulin was free, prompting US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co to issue an apology.

Just a fortnight later pay $44 billion to take over Twitter in October, new owner Elon Musk saw his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, posed as accounts.

And the world’s richest man also appears to have two verified accounts, with one operating under the handle @JoshMalina proclaiming on Wednesday: “Good night. Twitter cleanup starts now.”

The suspension came hours after the billionaire entrepreneur was warned Twitter could face bankruptcyhaving laid off half of the workforce.

His new vision has prompted high profile users including Stephen Fry to deactivate their accounts – as advertisers also worry about the survival of the platform.

Musk posted on Thursday, “Too many corrupt legacy blue ‘verification’ checkmarks exist, so no choice but to remove the legacy blue in the coming months.”

However, he also claimed that Twitter hit an “all-time high of active users” on Friday, adding, “Usage of Twitter continues to rise.

“One thing is certain: it’s not boring!

There are now two categories of “blue checks” – but they look identical.

One includes accounts verified before Musk took over, which state, “This account is verified because it is notable in the government, news, entertainment, or other designated category.”

The other confirms that the account is subscribed to Twitter Blue.

Twitter Blue was not available on the online version of the platform, which indicated that registration was only possible on the iPhone version. However, the iPhone version did not offer Twitter Blue as an option.

The platform also seems undecided about adding “official” labels to some prominent accounts, rolling them out before deleting them hours earlier.

Musk’s own accounts and Twitter, as well as global brands such as Amazon, Nike and Coca-Cola, do not have “official” status.