Elon Musk’s Twitter has fully retired legacy blue checkmarks from users of its platform. With this change, those who wish to attain blue badges on their profiles will have to pay for Twitter Blue, an $8 per month subscription service. Elon Musk, however, has clarified on Twitter that he is personally paying for the blue checkmarks of a few people.
At the start of April, Twitter announced that it would be phasing out the social media platform’s legacy verified program. Musk had also mentioned that the last of Twitter’s legacy verified accounts would have their badges removed on April 20. Following this change, users who wish to get a blue checkmark on their accounts will have to pay $8 per month on the web or $11 monthly on iOS and Android in the US.
As numerous users lost their legacy blue checkmarks, a number of notable users, such as prolific author Stephen King, noted that he still had a blue checkmark despite not paying for Twitter Blue. Noted sci-fi actor William Shatner also posted a rather cryptic message thanking Elon Musk on Twitter, noting that “I accept.” NBA star LeBron James retained his blue checkmark despite announcing that he would not be paying for Twitter Blue as well.
Musk’s later posts shed light on the situation, with the CEO clarifying that he has opted to pay for the verification of a few users personally. The list is very short, however, as the CEO noted that he is only paying for the verification of William Shatner, Stephen King, and LeBron James.
Musk’s disdain for Twitter’s legacy blue checkmark system has been quite evident. Unlike today’s paid service, Twitter’s legacy blue checkmark system was free, but it was mostly granted only to “notable” people and organizations. It was granted to celebrities, journalists, politicians, prominent figures, and companies, as well as prominent users of the platform. The verification program is extremely murky, however, as even organizations with hundreds of thousands of subscribers were perennially rejected without much explanation.
Users who wish to sign up for Twitter Blue on the web are advised to head over to twitter.com and select More > Twitter Blue > Subscribe. On iOS and Android, the process involves clicking on Profile Menu > Twitter Blue > Subscribe. Users signing up for Twitter Blue are required to confirm their phone numbers.
The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
