What have Beyonce Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo in common? Since today, their Twitter accounts are no longer verified.
On Thursday, the social media giant started removing thousands of accounts from their once coveted blue tick verification.
Elon Musk, the owner of the company, is trying to revamp it to make a profit.
Twitter Blue is available for $84 per year (PS67). Users who want to keep the check next to their name will have to pay this amount.
Some people lose their ticks while others keep them.
LeBron has a blue check, which is an “unconditional subscription” that Elon Musk gave him.
The billionaire has confirmed that Stephen King, William Shatner and other celebrities also received the same deal.
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Elon Musk’s tweet post has been ended.
Many users who were previously verified used Twitter to make jokes about the change or to mourn its loss.
Lolo Jones, a US Olympian, noted that she is still verify her dating profile.
Some users pointed out the irony of the fact that Jason Sudeikis, the actor who portrays Ted Lasso in the movie, lost his verification while Ted Lasso was still able to verify.
Tweets are allowed.
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Ben Stiller’s tweet post 2, end.
Ice T, a US rapper, said that the fuss over the checks is unnecessary.
“The fact we are even talking about Blue Check Marks is a sad moment in our society,” he wrote.
In 2009, the company introduced its verification feature after a former baseball professional filed a lawsuit against the social media giant for imposter accounts.
The blue check was adopted as a status sign and an authority symbol. Musk, however, wants to charge users money to verify their accounts in the new Twitter universe.
The decision to monetise the verification process could lead to a major cultural and power shift within the platform.
Kanye, Shaq, and Ewan McGregor, among other celebrities, were the first to publicly denounce being impersonated by Twitter in the days prior to verification. After the badges were removed, the celebrity’s number of followers may be the only way to distinguish between a real person and a fake.
After losing the verification, a fake account, posing as Hillary Clinton with the exact same profile photo as the former US senator, ” , announced that she would run again for the presidency.
Under Twitter’s new verification
The lack of verification has already caused confusion. New York City has a handle that claims to be ” the authentic Twitter account”, representing the government.
These tweets, say experts, could spread misinformation.
Musk has tried framing the decision to remove verification as a means to democratise the content on the website. Critics have said the move would amplify misinformation, as Twitter Blue subscribers get priority rankings. Mr Musk said that only verified account will appear in For You’s prominent stream.
Experts and social media monitors fear that the increase in paid verification could lead to a proliferation of misinformation. This could drive away advertisers and reduce the revenue Twitter receives from its subscription verification model.
But Mr Musk has said that pain is part of the process of change.
