The tick is now just no longer free.
(Photo: AP)
san francisco As announced, Twitter on Thursday began removing the free verification ticks previously given to celebrities and relevant people for free. Now only paying subscription customers of the short message service have the same-looking icon in their profiles – but without real verification of their identity. Among the celebrities whose accounts were without the white tick on a blue background on Thursday were soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, actress Halle Berry and numerous musicians such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Shakira and Justin Timberlake.
Now anyone can pretend to be her, criticized the singer Dionne Warwick in advance, whose account also lost the verification tick. The symbols were introduced so users could be sure that no one was impersonating celebrities, politicians or athletes. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, after buying Twitter for around $44 billion, claimed the process for awarding the ticks was “corrupt.” That’s why everyone should pay for it now. Many celebrities have announced that they will not be subscribing to Musk’s Twitter.
>> Read also: Why users should now pay for social media
Traditionally, most of Twitter’s business has come from advertising. After the Musk acquisition, there was a churn of advertisers. He now hopes more for subscription revenues from users and companies. Making the tick icon part of a subscription is part of the plan.
With the new model, there is actual verification only for companies. But they should also pay significantly more money for their golden tick: 950 euros per month instead of 9.52 euros for individual users.
More: Twitter Blue customers can write longer tweets