OAN Geraldyn Berry
UPDATED 2:25 PM – Thursday, April 20, 2023
Elon Musk’s Twitter started removing blue verification checkmarks from users who had not subscribed to the service on Thursday.
This comes as Twitter users had observed checks disappearing from the accounts of journalists, academics, and celebrities. The notable blue verification checks disappeared from the accounts of some of the most well-known and widely followed people on the social network, including Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Pope Francis, former president Donald Trump, and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
Some congressional lawmakers, like Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Brian Mast, and Ilhan Omar, appear to still have the gray government check mark on their official accounts, but not all of them do. Some people still have the blue check on their personal accounts, such Marjorie Taylor Greene.
On Thursday, Elon Musk’s Twitter started removing blue verification checkmarks from users who had not subscribed to the service.
Prior to April 1st, Twitter had announced that it will “begin winding down” the blue checks given out under its former verification method, which placed a strong emphasis on defending prominent users who might be impersonated. Musk stated that users will need to subscribe to the platform’s Twitter Blue subscription service for $8 per month in order to stay verified. Since December, accounts have been able to pay for verification through this service.
The “final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20,” tweeted Musk last week.
Popular users who draw attention to the website, such as actor William Shatner and anti-bullying campaigner Monica Lewinsky, have previously resisted the concept that they should be required to pay for a feature that protects them from impersonation.
For his part, Musk has in the past advocated for modifications to Twitter’s authentication process as a means of “treating everyone equally.”
“There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities,” he said in an earlier tweet.
The paid feature could also drive revenue, which could help Musk, who is on the hook for the significant debt after buying Twitter for $44 billion.
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