This time itB次元官网网址檚 for real.
Many of TwitterB次元官网网址檚 high-profile users are losing the that helped verify their identity and distinguish them from impostors on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.
After several , Twitter began making good on its promise Thursday to remove the blue checks from accounts that donB次元官网网址檛 pay a monthly fee to keep them. Twitter had about 300,000 verified users under the original blue-check system B次元官网网址� many of them journalists, athletes and public figures. The checks began disappearing from these usersB次元官网网址� profiles late morning Pacific Time.
The costs of keeping the marks range from $8 a month for individual web users to a starting price of $1,000 monthly to verify an organization, plus $50 monthly for each affiliate or employee account. Twitter does not verify the individual accounts to ensure they are who they say they are, as was the case with the previous blue check doled out during the platformB次元官网网址檚 pre-Musk administration.
, from basketball star LeBron James to Star TrekB次元官网网址檚 William Shatner, have balked at joining. Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander pledged to leave the platform if Musk takes his blue check away.
After buying Twitter for $44 billion in October, Musk has been trying to boost the struggling platformB次元官网网址檚 revenue by pushing more people to pay for a premium subscription. But his move also reflects his assertion that the blue verification marks have become an undeserved or B次元官网网址渃orruptB次元官网网址� status symbol for elite personalities, news reporters and others granted verification for free by TwitterB次元官网网址檚 previous leadership.
Twitter began tagging profiles with a blue check mark starting about 14 years ago. Along with shielding celebrities from impersonators, one of the main reasons was to provide an extra tool to curb misinformation coming from accounts impersonating people. Most B次元官网网址渓egacy blue checks,B次元官网网址� including the accounts of politicians, activists and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the globe, are not household names.
One of MuskB次元官网网址檚 first product moves after taking over Twitter was to launch a service granting blue checks to anyone willing to pay $8 a month. But it was quickly inundated by impostor accounts, including those impersonating Nintendo, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and MuskB次元官网网址檚 businesses Tesla and SpaceX, so Twitter had to temporarily suspend the service days after its launch.
The relaunched service costs $8 a month for web users and $11 a month for users of its iPhone or Android apps. Subscribers are supposed to see fewer ads, be able to post longer videos and have their tweets featured more prominently.
B次元官网网址擝arbara Ortutay, The Associated Press
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