Twitter has begun removing the coveted blue checkmarks signifying authority from accounts which had been granted them based on the company’s previous standards of authentication. It is all part of Elon Musk’s plan to only award checkmarks based upon a user paying a monthly fee.
The revocations of checkmarks from non-paying accounts began on Thursday. Well known accounts with millions of followers, including such personalities as Pope Francis, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, and former President Donald J. Trump, all saw their blue checkmarks disappear as part of the purge.
Last December, Musk began to offer blue checkmarks to customers willing to pay an $8 per month fee, after purchasing the social media giant for $44 billion in October. Initially, those who had acquired blue checkmarks under the previous system only lost their unique authority once a checkmark could be purchased. Some, such as former White House intern Monica Lewinsky announced they would move to other social media platforms in response.
Some Twitter users, such as former President Barack Obama, pop singer Taylor Swift, and basketball star LeBron James still retained their blue checkmarks as of Thursday night, while other prominent figures such as US President Joe Biden and Indian President Narendra Modi were sporting gray checkmarks, which signified verified government accounts. However observers have noted that some government agencies and public entities have yet to have been awarded their gray checkmarks.
Musk claimed the old method by which the checkmarks were apportioned was a “corrupt and nonsensical” system, which had seen verifiable users denied checkmarks and rogue employees charging regular users as much as $15,000 for a personally delivered illicit verification, after denying the user’s initial requests under the official system.
He has argued that the new system will treat “everyone equally,” since “there shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities.” He has also pointed out that by offering users the option to pay for the service, it will make it prohibitively expensive to run spam and bot accounts with authoritative accounts.
Initially, Musk had said Twitter would begin removing blue checkmarks from accounts without monthly subscriptions on April 1st, however he later pushed the final date back to April 20th. Some observers felt this was a reference to 420, which is used as slang for marijuana. Those who use the drug often view April 20th as an unofficial holiday in the drug’s honor, and Musk frequently makes jokes referencing the drug that use the slag term.
