Twitter removes free blue tick

Now only customers who pay a subscription fee have the look-alike icon on their profiles – but without real verification of their identity.

As announced, Twitter on Thursday began removing free verification tags previously given away to celebrities and related people for free. Now only customers who pay the SMS subscription fee have the same code in their profiles – but without real verification of their identity.

Among the celebrities whose accounts were without a white tick on a blue background on Thursday were soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, actress Halle Berry and several musicians such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Shakira and Justin Timberlake.

Musk hopes to generate more subscription revenue

Now anyone can pretend to be her, singer Dionne Warwick slammed in advance, whose account also lost the verification mark. The codes were introduced so that users can be sure that no one is impersonating celebrities, politicians or athletes. After buying Twitter for about $44 billion, tech billionaire Elon Musk has claimed that the tick granting process was “rotten.” That’s why everyone has to pay for it now. Several celebrities have announced that they will no longer be subscribing to Musk’s Twitter.

Traditionally, most of Twitter’s business has come from advertising. After Musk’s acquisition, there was an uproar from advertisers. He now hopes to generate more subscription revenue from users and businesses. Making the hash code part of the subscription is part of the plan.

With the new model, there is actual corporate-only verification. But they also have to pay a lot more money for the Gold Label: 950 euros per month instead of 9.52 euros for individual users.

(APA)