As Elon Musk took over the micro-blogging platform, Twitter, he reintroduced the Twitter Blue program that charges users a monthly subscription fee in exchange for more features including the ability to edit tweets, post longer texts, and a higher level of tweet impressions. Musk had declared that Twitter would start removing the blue tick from the legacy verified accounts on 20 April, and verified users had time until then to subscribe to Twitter Blue to retain their blue verified badges. Following the removal of these badges, these legacy verified users, such as prominent leaders and celebrities, were forced to scramble to come up with a mechanism to demonstrate their legitimacy and fend off imitators.
The blue checkmarks’ initial purpose was to denote that a user’s identity has been confirmed by Twitter. However, under Twitter Blue, the checkmarks have been modified to denote that the user has purchased a premium account. From $8 per month for an individual user to $1,000 per month for an organization, plus $50 per month for each affiliate or employee account, is the cost of retaining the blue badge.
The gray and gold check marks provided by the new program allowed some accounts to keep their verification, while many businesses and people lost their verification status. Fake accounts started distributing false information and imposing official accounts as a result of the misunderstanding about who still had verification and who did not.
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Reactions to Twitter’s decision to remove verification badges have been conflicted. The decision has drawn criticism from some prominent users while receiving support from others. The change has also raised worries that Twitter may no longer be a reliable source of up-to-date, accurate information, particularly in times of emergency.
The removal of blue ticks is not the only cause that is evoking strong repercussions from Twitter users. Some media organizations are also equally disappointed with the removal of government-aided labels from their accounts. Twitter’s decisions ensued confusion, and so, many users have ended up leaving the platform, including National Public Radio.
Twitter’s move to strip off the blue tick has affected a huge number of users, especially government organizations and prominent celebrities who now have a question if to stay on the platform, and how to prove legitimacy if they stay. Many users have raised concerns about Twitter’s ambiguity and its possible loss of credibility as a source of factual information. It is still to be determined if these changes would affect the general popularity and legitimacy of the social media site.
