Chaos ticks on Twitter after Musk enforces free blue checkmarks

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Apr 2023 11:38

Users with a huge number of followers received blue checkmarks without paying the subscription fee, which incited a wave of protests over Musk's move and questioned his motive.

Twitter, SpaceX, and Tesla owner Elon Musk at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019 (Reuters)

Twitter high-profile users have protested the social media company's forced reinstatement of their blue checkmarks for free in recent days, just after the firm removed its legacy mark - a symbol implying that the account's user is verified - on April 14 as part of Elon Musk's plan to generate more revenue to the struggling platform.

Media accounts, celebrities, and accounts with a high following were surprised to see that they were granted a "Twitter Blue" checkmark despite not paying the 8$ subscription fee.

Out of 407,000 legacy profiles, less than 5 percent subscribed after the decision went into effect, said Travis Brown, a software developer in Berlin who monitors social media platforms.

Between Friday and Saturday, celebrities such as author Stephen King, former US president Donald Trump, and LeBron James saw the blue mark back on their accounts.

In a tweet on Friday, Musk said that he was "paying for a few (subscriptions) personally."

Explicit protests by some of the accounts appeared on the platform.

American rapper Lil Nas X, after regaining the blue tick, tweeted: "On my soul i didn't pay for twitter blue, u will feel my wrath tesla man!"

AFP was among other media outlets to see back its blue check as well.

But the accounts did not only include living people. Late NBA champion Kobe Bryant, Hollywood star Chadwick Boseman, and US chef Anthony Bourdain were among others who received the check.

The subscription verification was not only limited to the basic $8 blue mark.

The New York Times regained its gold badge, which is reserved for an "official business account" that pays at least $1,000 monthly. The badge reinstatement comes despite Musk describing the news outlet as "propaganda" earlier this month.

Musk's maneuver however failed to bring back American public radio NPR and Canada's public broadcaster CBC - who also saw their blue marks reinstated - after having stopped using Twitter last Sunday in protest to the US billionaire's decision to label their accounts as "state-affiliated" and "government-funded" respectively.

The social media giant removed the labels on Friday, including those that targeted China's state news outlet Xinhua and Russia's RT.

Real motive questioned

"No means no, boys," tech journalist Kara Swisher tweeted on Saturday, confirming that she received the blue checkmark without her approval.

"Inquiring minds need to know: Does Elon love me for me or for my 1.49 million followers?" she added, just two hours after she stated that she would not pay "$8/month for blue check and meh features."

King said on his Twitter account: "My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t."

My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t.
My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 20, 2023

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) also tweeted on Saturday: "We did not subscribe to Twitter Blue," after their account received the blue tick implying that they paid the subscription.

We did not subscribe to Twitter Blue.
— Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (@MIT) April 23, 2023

On his part, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said on Saturday: "So my blue check has reappeared. I had nothing to do with that, and am definitely not paying."

Musk, following the protests, tweeted on his account: "Check mate".