The development has affected several individuals including
journalists as Twitter insists on a $8 monthly payment to subscribe to its
‘Twitter Blue’ if account holders must retain their verification badge, or for
those who want to get the blue tick newly.
Numerous checkmarks disappeared from Twitter accounts for
the users who were reluctant to pay $8 a month for the traditional blue badge.
‘Legacy’ blue ticks were initially given to verified
accounts belonging to people of public interest including celebrities,
politicians and journalists.
But following Musk’s takeover, only those subscribed to
Twitter Blue can keep a blue tick, while businesses must now pay for a gold
tick.
This decision came as part of Musk’s efforts to get rid of
the so-called “lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue
checkmark.”
Earlier in the month, Musk had tweeted that “Final date for
removing legacy blue checks is April 20.”
April 1 was the initial date to kickstart the removal of
‘legacy’ ticks, but many remained after this date giving rise to confusion.
Ten days later, Musk then announced that the ‘final date’
for removing these ticks would be April 20.
Nigerian singers, Davido, Burna Boy, and Wizkid verification
badges have also been removed on the microblogging platform.
Checks by our correspondent on Thursday showed that the
verification badges on their account have been removed.
Lagos State police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin was also
caught in the web as he jokingly said he was not paying any dime.
“Legacy verification gone.
I no dey pay shishi,” he tweeted on Thursday.
Biggest losers
The latest move has resulted in several celebrities, with
followings running into millions, also losing the verification badge on the
microblogging platform. Shah Rukh Khan (43.4 million), Amitabh Bachchan (48.4
million), Virat Kohli (55.1 million) and Rahul Gandhi (23.3 million) are among
those who have lost their verification badge on Twitter
Former US president Donald Trump (87.2 million), Microsoft
cofounder Bill Gates (62.5 million), and author JK Rowling (14 million) have
also lost their blue ticks on the social networking site.
Even the most followed persons on the platform have lost
their verification badge, this includes Justin Bieber, the third most followed
person on the platform with 113 million followers, and Cristiano Ronaldo, with
108.3 million followers.
Meanwhile, some personalities, such as basketball star LeBron James and author Stephen King, who have both said they will not pay for the checkmark, still had their blue ticks.
Musk later tweeted: “I'm paying for a few personally.” He
later added: “Just Shatner, LeBron and King.”
Just Shatner, LeBron and King
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 21, 2023
“Welp guess my blue will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying,” basketball player LeBron James had said in a tweet last month.
Musk initially proposed charging $20 monthly for verification, but later lowered the price to $8. Some users said they would leave Twitter, while others refused to pay.Welp guess my blue ✔️ will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5. 🤷🏾♂️
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 31, 2023
Criticisms continue to trail Twitter’s decision on social
media with some saying the essence of the verification was being defeated, as
anyone could impersonate another just by subscribing to the Twitter Blue.
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