Technology

The Morning After: Twitter is retiring legacy blue checkmarks

As threatened for a while, Twitter began removing the original blue ticks from user profiles, which include the likes of Beyonce, the Pope, and yours truly. If the Pope wants his blue mark back, he will have to pay $8 a month for Twitter Blue. Businesses can receive a gold checkmark without a subscription, while government and multilateral organization accounts can get a gray checkmark. However, when Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he claimed there were too many “corrupt” verified accounts and the legacy system needed to be abandoned. He characterized Blue as a way to democratize check marks. That said, it’s now pay-to-play, and many notable figures, including LeBron James and Chrissy Teigan, have stated (on Twitter ha) that they’re unlikely to pay for Twitter Blue.

That being said, James still has his ‘tick’. according to his own Apparently Musk paid some of Blue’s bills himself, maybe he’s a big basketball fan. Will this blue tick gambit be worth it?

–Matt Smith

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