Elon Musk’s Twitter started clearing blue ticks.
Elon Musk’s Twitter started to remove blue verification marks from the accounts of those who did not sign up for its monthly service on Thursday, with the checks disappearing from the profiles of reporters, academics, and celebrities.
The blue tick also disappeared from the profiles of some of the social network’s most popularly followed users, including Beyonce, Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Kim Kardashian, former President Donald Trump, and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
How much will users pay to verify right now?
Last year, Elon Musk introduced Twitter Blue after purchasing the social media service for $44 billion. He added several new features as well as $8 monthly fee for the blue tick. Finally, Twitter has begun to deactivate “legacy” blue ticks from users who have not yet paid for Twitter Blue strategies. On April 12, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that all users who have not paid will lose their verified blue badges as of April 20. Blue badges are now beginning to be removed from the microblogging platform.
Blue Tick removed from Legacy Accounts
The accounts with tick marks that existed before Musk’s takeover, referred to as “legacy accounts,” got the option of paying for the monthly fee after its rollout or risking losing their tick mark, which first appeared to prevent impersonation of famous figures.
After numerous delays in the April 1 sign-up deadline, Twitter started removing marks from thousands of legacy covers on Thursday, including celebrities such as Pope Francis, Bill Gates, and Kim Kardashian.
Several government organizations, charities, and citizenry-service accounts also lost the blue tick, increasing worries about how people will differentiate between official and non-official channels for knowledge during public events or emergencies.
People’s hilarious responses
Twitter announced on the microblogging platforms that it was going to start cracking down on old blue ticks. Only people and businesses who paid for the premium Twitter Blue membership will have their profiles verified. Since the announcement, many people have taken to Twitter to share their hilarious reactions.
Many celebrities, including author Stephen King, posted on Twitter to explain why they had kept their blue tick without paying. No, I haven’t. According to my Twitter account, I provided a phone number. “No, I haven’t.”
Many Twitter users’ concerns
Many Twitter users felt outraged by the changes, fearing that the new system would promote the spread of misinformation and fake news. The blue tick served as an indicator of reliability because it indicated that a user’s identity had been verified by the platform, assisting users in identifying impersonator accounts and misinformation, and it was primarily reserved for prominent individuals, journalists, and media outlets.
According to Musk, verified official accounts got a gray checkmark, while verified media outlets got a gold tick, though it is unclear how these designations are distributed. Following a wave of impersonation accounts, Twitter had to postpone the first version of Twitter Blue in early November 2022, but revived the platform in December after modifications.
Fake news
People started spreading fake news almost immediately. The sports world was particularly hard hit. Trolls would try to fool people because Twitter is the best place to go for sports discussion. The most common ruse was to spread rumors that a player had quit their team. Most notably, a phony LeBron James demanded an offer from the Lakers. There was a fake version of ESPN’s Adam Schefter declaring that the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders got fired. A phony Aroldis Chapman announced that the pitcher would remain with the New York Yankees.
The elimination of blue ticks over non-paying users on Thursday caused similar chaos, with imitator accounts for public figures such as Jeff Bezos reappearing and the billionaire declaring that he was officially closing down Amazon.
Celebrities quit Twitter
The blue ticks vanish from the profiles of some of the social network’s most well-known and widely followed users, like Kim Kardashian, Pope Francis, Beyonce, former President Donald Trump, Bill Gates, and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
Elton John, Jim Carrey, and Adam McKay have all recently announced their intention to leave the platform. The trend started at the end of October, right when Musk took over as CEO. Shonda Rhimes, a screenwriter, producer, and showrunner, was among the first to quit, tweeting: “No hanging around for whatever Elon planned.”
Conclusion
Twitter, run by Elon Musk, started to delete the blue tick from users’ accounts who had not subscribed to its monthly service. Anyone who wants a verified account will need to pay $8 per month, according to Elon Musk. Some of the most widely followed users on the social network had their blue ticks vanish from their profiles.
