Twitter has started removing verification badges from accounts that already had a blue tick. This comes after Elon Musk’s announcement late last month that the microblogging social platform was going to take away all legacy verified checkmarks. The effect to remove the blue was meant to start on April 1, however, there was no change and many Twitter users thought it was an April Fool’s prank.
Musk last year hinted that legacy verified checkmarks would be removed and according to him, the checkmarks were given out in a corrupt way. “We will remove all legacy blue checks. The way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical,” he wrote in a tweet.
Now under Twitter’s new rules, blue ticks which once showed official, verified accounts, will start to be removed from accounts that do not pay for them this includes politicians, celebrities, journalists, media houses, businesses, and organizations, to mention a few.
The microblogging social platform has begun winding down and removing legacy verified checkmarks —some users, The New York Times as one of them have reported losing the blue tick. All affected users will have to subscribe to the paid verification service, Twitter Blue if they want to keep their blue checks. Organizations seeking verification badges will have to pay a monthly fee of $1,000 (approx. UGX3.7 million) and $50 for each additional affiliate subaccount to receive a gold verification tick, while individual accounts must pay $8 (approx. UGX30,000) through the web or $11 (approx. UGX41,000) in-app.
But it is unclear whether all organizations must sign up for the subscription service in order to remain verified. The New York Times reports, citing an internal Twitter document that ten thousand of the most-followed organizations on Twitter will be exempt from the rules.
It is reported that several organizations and celebrities said they would not pay for the tick.
Twitter Blue is expected to generate revenue for the company, however, concerns have been raised that without the verification process, it will be difficult to tell genuine accounts from impersonators.
The removal of the blue ticks is happening gradually. This could be because it is largely a manual process, according to The Washington Post, citing former employees of the company.
Currently, Twitter has introduced three different colored verification badges: gold ticks are used for businesses and organizations, grey ticks are for government-affiliated accounts or multilateral organizations, and blue ticks are used for individual accounts.
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