Twitter has launched its controversial new $7.99/month Twitter Blue subscription, which allows any user who pays monthly to receive a blue verification badge, which the social media platform previously applied only to symbolize an authentic, notable account in a designated category.
Until now, the blue verification checkmark on Twitter was used to let people know that an account was authentic, representing notable profiles belonging to government officials, companies, brands, and influential individuals.
Now, anyone with $7.99/month in their wallet can get the blue verification badge, which is now meaningless, as it is applied to any account that pays for Twitter Blue automatically, without any ID checks being taken prior to the account receiving the badge, meaning that the verification checkmark no longer symbolises an account that has been officially verified as official and authentic.
The move has been heavily criticized by government officials, companies, brands, and influential individuals who see the decision by Twitter CEO Elon Musk as irresponsible, putting many high-profile Twitter users now at risk of impersonation and the spread of misinformation.
According to Musk, existing verified accounts that were given a blue checkmark through the original ID verification process will have “a couple of months” before they will need to subscribe to Twitter Blue to continue showing a verification mark, with many existing blue badge holders saying they won’t pay for the checkmark given that it no longer symbolises what it previously did.
As well as offering blue badge verification, Twitter’s new $7.99/month subscription provides users with the ability to edit tweets after they have been posted, the option to select an alternative app icon to change the appearance of the app, as well as app themes and the ability to customize the app’s navigation bar.
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