Twitter has begun removing blue “check marks” or verification badges from high-profile accounts that have not paid for the monthly verification service. This move comes after several false starts, and Twitter’s promise to remove the blue ticks from accounts that do not pay a monthly fee to keep them. Many of Twitter’s high-profile users, including journalists, athletes, and public figures, were originally verified under the original blue-tick system. However, after Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, he has been trying to boost the struggling platform’s revenue by pushing more people to pay for a premium subscription.
The blue verification marks were initially introduced about 14 years ago to provide an extra tool to curb misinformation and protect celebrities from impersonators. However, Twitter does not verify individual accounts to ensure they are who they say they are, as was the case with the previous blue ticks doled out during the platform’s pre-Musk ownership. Mr Musk believes the blue verification marks have become an undeserved or “corrupt” status symbol for elite personalities, news reporters, and others granted verification free of charge by Twitter’s previous leadership.
The costs of keeping the verification badges range from $8 a month for individual web users to a starting price of $1,000 monthly for organizations, plus $50 monthly for each affiliate or employee account. However, many celebrity users have not joined the new system. Actress Halle Berry tweeted an older video of her dancing with the caption: “Me joining you all tomorrow unverified.”
After Mr Musk’s takeover of Twitter, one of his first product moves was to launch a service granting blue ticks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. However, the service was quickly inundated by impostor accounts, including those impersonating Nintendo, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, and Mr Musk’s businesses Tesla and SpaceX. As a result, Twitter temporarily suspended the service days after its launch.
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