On Tuesday, Elon Musk announced a deadline for the removal of legacy blue checkmarks from Twitter accounts that were verified under the platform’s former management. “Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20,” Musk stated in a tweet. Users with a legacy verification will now need to subscribe to a paid service to retain their blue checkmark.
The only accounts permitted to keep their blue checkmarks will be those subscribed to Twitter Blue. The subscription cost varies by location and method of registration. In the United States, it is priced at $11 per month (approximately Rs. 900) or $114.99 annually (around Rs. 9,430) for users on iOS or Android, while it is $8 monthly (roughly Rs. 650) or $84 yearly (about Rs. 6,900) for web users.
Previously, Twitter had communicated that starting from April 1, it would begin removing blue checkmarks from legacy verified accounts—those identified as notable or authentic—if users did not sign up for the Twitter Blue service.
On April 2, the company updated the description for verified users to state, “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account,” obscuring the distinction between users who pay for verification and those who do not.
Some celebrities have opted out of paying for verification. NBA star LeBron James tweeted on March 31 about his impending loss of the blue checkmark, indicating he would not pay for it. “Welp guess my blue [?] will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5. [?],” he wrote, although he remains verified under the handle @KingJames.
Musk is implementing the paid verification model to bolster Twitter’s financial stability. Author Stephen King publicly rejected the notion of paying for verification (“F… that,” he tweeted), prompting Musk to counter, “We need to pay the bills somehow!”
In addition, Twitter has introduced a verification program for businesses and organizations, which will charge $1,000 per month for verification badges; gold checkmarks will be granted to brands, companies, and nonprofits, while grey checkmarks will indicate government accounts.
Twitter initially rolled out verified accounts in 2009 as a way to help users recognize authentic accounts belonging to celebrities, politicians, brands, news organizations, and other publicly significant entities, aiming to distinguish them from impostors or parody accounts. Previously, no fees were associated with obtaining verification.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
