The blue verification symbols on the short message service Twitter have so far shown that a profile has been checked. Now it just means that a subscription has been paid for. That’s what owner Elon Musk wants.
The short message service Twitter has on behalf of their owner Elon Musks the so-called verification tick removed. This symbol was previously awarded free of charge to celebrities and relevant persons or institutions. As of Thursday, however, only paying subscribers have the same-looking icon in their profiles, but without an actual identity check.
Legend:
The explanatory text for the white tick on the blue rosette now states that the Twitter account has been paid for a subscription and its telephone number has been confirmed. Twitter originally introduced the symbol so users could be sure that no one else was impersonating a celebrity, politician, athlete, or institution.
REUTERS / Given Ruvic
Many celebrities have already lost the white tick, including footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, actress Halle Berry and numerous music stars such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Shakira and Justin Timberlake.
On the other hand, some celebrities have kept the symbol even though they refused to pay for a subscription, including bestselling author Stephen King and basketball player LeBron James.
Twitter owner Elon Musk said on Twitter that he personally pays for some profiles. According to technology blog The Verge, LeBron James declined Twitter’s offer, but was still able to keep the tick. Stephen King made it a point to state that he was not a subscriber. “You’re welcome,” Musk tweeted back.
After buying Twitter for around 44 billion dollars, Elon Musk claimed that the procedure for assigning the ticks was “corrupt” and in some cases arbitrary. Now, of all people, Musk himself decides who should keep the verification tick without paying for it.
On Twitter, advertising traditionally brought in the bulk of revenue. After the Musk takeover, however, there was a churn of advertisers. He is now hoping more for revenue from subscription sales from private users and companies. Making the tick part of a subscription is part of the plan. The new golden yellow tick for verified companies costs 950 euros per month and 9.52 euros for private users.
Twitter in permanent turbulence
Technology billionaire Musk has been the owner of Twitter for six months and since then the platform has been in permanent crisis mode: mass layoffs, fired management, churn of advertisers or disputes with the media.
For Musk, the $44 billion purchase has been a bad investment so far. When issuing shares to employees, the value of the company was only half as high, Musk confirmed in one Interview with the BBC. Musk is currently hoping for more revenue from the sale of subscriptions after the slump in sales to advertisers.
Musk changed Twitter. He always swore to “absolute freedom of speech” on Twitter. Nevertheless, accounts of journalists have been blocked several times for alleged violations of user rules. Many accounts that were blocked for hate speech or spreading falsehoods have since been unblocked; including the suspended account of former US President Donald Trump.
However, Twitter must also meet legal requirements. After violations, the platform is now bound to promises made to the consumer protection office of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) bound. Musk tried to meet FTC Chair Lina Khan but was rebuffed, the New York Times recently wrote.