All verified accounts will lose their blue tick on Saturday (April 1), putting an end to Twitter’s system of account verification. From this point on, they will only be given to “Twitter Blue” subscribers who pay a $8 monthly subscription fee.
For previously authenticated users who choose not to sign up, this shift also brings additional problems. Nevertheless, the most important aspect—assuming start date doesn’t indicate this is a joke—are those blue checks. Instead of serving as a straightforward verification that a well-known or publicly visible account holder is who they claim to be, Musk evidently views them as a sort of status symbol and wants to charge for them, reported the The Wrap.
Musk, however, is mistaken if he believed that by removing the verification from “legacy” accounts, he could convince the account holders to sign up for Twitter Blue. At least this stands true for American media. Several major news outlets in the country have informed employees they won’t budge this week, according to CNN’s Oliver Darcy.
“We aren’t planning to pay the monthly fee for verification of our institutional Twitter accounts” The New York Times told Darcy, adding, “we also will not reimburse reporters for the verification of personal accounts” with the sole exception of “rare instances where verified status would be essential for reporting purposes.”
The Washington Post refused subscribing “as an institution or on behalf of our journalists,” a spokesperson told Darcy, noting that “it’s evident that verified checkmarks no longer represent authority and expertise.”
The Los Angeles Times stated in a memo to staff that it will not subscribe and will not reimburse employees who do.
“First of all, verification no longer establishes authority or credibility. Instead, it only means that someone has paid for a Twitter Blue subscription. Secondly, while twitter remains an important tool for newsgathering, it is not as reliable as it once was. We will not be paying to verify our organization on twitter either. It’s still unclear if there’s actual value in doing so, beyond identifying all of us as L.A. Times staffers,” The Los Angeles Times spokesperson told Darcy.
Buzzfeed told Dracy that “As an organization, we will not cover fees for individuals to keep their blue checkmarks moving forward. There are several reasons for this, but one outweighs them all: a blue checkmark no longer means the handle is ‘verified.’”
Politico dismissed Twitter Blue in a same way. “In the future, a checkmark will no longer mean you are a verified journalist. Instead, it will simply mean you are paying for benefits such as longer tweets and fewer ads. POLITICO will not pay for you to subscribe to Twitter Blue.”
Vox Media meanwhile told Darcy, “While Vox Media will take advantage of legacy account verification when provided to our brand accounts, it will generally not pay for employees to keep or gain Twitter verification.”
A few days after acquiring Twitter, which he was compelled to do through court when he attempted to back out of the transaction, Musk initially unveiled Twitter Blue last October. He’s insisted over and over again that Twitter needs to charge for blue checks in order to be profitable.
