Twitter drama continues today as the service’s new $7.99/month Twitter Blue subscription, which includes a blue verification checkmark, is no longer available to subscribe to, although it is unclear whether the paid service has been scrapped or is facing technical issues.
Launched earlier this week, Twitter Blue’s $7.99/month subscription offers users access to the ability to post longer videos to Twitter, see fewer ads, and more, as well as the platform’s blue checkmark, which until the rollout of the service was used to let people know that an account was authentic, representing notable profiles belonging to government officials, companies, brands, and influential individuals.
With Twitter Blue, any paying user will see a blue checkmark on their account automatically, without any ID verification.
The move to sell blue badges has been heavily criticized by government officials, companies, brands, and influential individuals who see the decision by Twitter CEO Elon Musk to sell the original checkmark as irresponsible, putting many high-profile Twitter users at risk of impersonation and the spread of misinformation.
Today, Twitter reintroduced its secondary “Official” verification badge, two days after it was initially launched and killed within hours by CEO Elon Musk.
