Twitter deprives previously verified users of «blue ticks»

Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the platform will remove all outdated blue checkmarks because users received them in a «corrupted» way.

«Within a few months, we will remove all outdated blue check marks. Theprinciple by which they were distributed was corrupt and ridiculous,» Musk tweeted in response to one of the users.

In a few months, we will remove all legacy blue checks. The way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2022

The fact is that previously only selected social media users could receive such checks — usually celebrities, presidents, diplomats, giant corporations, influential global media, and so on. Now, the automatic system will verify the authenticity of verified accounts that are older than 90 days.

Musk promised that other checkmarks will appear in the future — gold for companies and gray for government and diplomatic institutions. In addition, the Twitter account database will be cleared of «dead» profiles. The company plans to delete about 1.5 billion abandoned accounts.

After the change announced by the billionaire, the blue check mark will be available only as part of the monthly Twitter Blue subscription costing USD 8 on Android or the desktop version of the social network and USD 11 on iOS. The premium subscription is already available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

As part of the Twitter Blue premium subscription, users will be able to change their names on the social network, but the blue tick will disappear until they verify it again via smartphone. Twitter Blue users will also be able to edit posts, download videos in 1080p resolution, and access reader mode. Users with a premium subscription see half as many ads, receive priority placement in reposts, mentions, and search by username, and can post long videos and audio.

At the beginning of his tenure at Twitter, Musk wanted to introduce a $ 20 fee for verified profiles, which angered the famous American horror writer Stephen King. After a short dispute with the King of Horror, Musk offered to reduce the cost to $ 8 per month. At the time, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin stood up for the billionaire, agreeing to a monthly premium account fee provided that the option would be available to other operating systems besides iOS. However, the Ethereum developer is looking for an alternative to Twitter just in case — Buterin has already registered with Telegram, Reddit, Farcaster, and Mastodon.