After Twitter CEO Elon Musk slammed The New York Times as "propaganda" on Sunday, the New York Times' account had its gold "verified" marker and is now required to pay a huge amount to maintain verification. 

This comes as both Twitter announces that it would start cutting down "legacy" blue checkmarks from April 1, which Musk began late last year, and which the New York Times among other firms and media companies lost upon gaining the now-gone gold checkmark. 

On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOpLp

Organizations can sign up for https://t.co/RlN5BbuGA3…

— Twitter Verified (@verified) March 23, 2023

Keeping the gold verification mark would require these groups to subscribe and pay a monthly amount of $1,000 in the US, and any additional affiliate would need an extra $50. However, the NYT said it refused to pay to maintain its verified account and would only subscribe for the blue mark in case its journalists find it crucial for their reporting needs. 

Musk tweeted a few days ago: "The real tragedy of @NYTimes is that their propaganda isn't even interesting" and called its main feed the "equivalent of diarrhea" and "unreadable."  

No exemptions for celebrities

Travis Brown, a software developer who tracks social media platforms, confirmed that only a few dozen accounts have remained unverified or suspended since Saturday, adding that the number of accounts that switched from legacy to the new system jumped approximately 60,000 in the past week, but that they were "mostly small accounts, and very few had legacy verification."  

Read next: Meta charges Facebook & Instagram users for blue tick & adds features

The blue checkmark, established back in 2009, became a signal or symbol that boosted the platform's credibility for newsmakers and campaigners. However, the procedure in which the checkmark receivers were set was a symbol, according to Musk, of an unfair class system.  

Speaking of an unfair class system, Twitter has been informing users verified under the platform's previous rules that they would be stripped of their blue check marks unless they become paid subscribers to Twitter Blue, the company's subscription-based verification system.

It's about "treating everyone equally," Musk tweeted in response to actor William Shatner who was criticizing the company's decision to take away the blue checkmarks from previously verified creators.

"Hey @elonmusk what’s this about blue checks going away unless we pay Twitter?" Shatner asked. "Now you’re telling me that I have to pay for something you gave me for free?"

"There shouldn't be a different standard for celebrities [in my opinion]," Musk added.

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