Twitter’s blue check apocalypse is here, and this is the full story – The Verge

Twitter users are now wondering if mandatory blue checks are illegal

2023-04-24T13:36:55-04:00

Okay, I'll admit it: I did not expect the Twitter checkpocalypse to result in Dril accusing Elon Musk of violating federal consumer protection laws.

It's been four days since Musk removed the last "legacy verified" checkmarks, leaving Twitter's blue checks in the hands of people who pay $8 per month for Twitter Blue. Or, at least, that was the idea. As of Monday morning, here's how it's gone:

Legacy checkmarks did, in fact, disappear, leaving only checks bestowed through the paid Twitter Blue service.
Elon Musk revealed that he was comping "a few" Twitter Blue subscriptions for celebrities, mainly ones who had criticized Twitter Blue verific …

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Twitter claims dead celebs are subscribing to Blue from beyond the grave

2023-04-24T05:56:13-04:00

After chief twit Elon Musk made good on his promise to remove Twitter accounts' legacy verification blue ticks last week, numerous high-profile accounts now appear to be re-verified - including a number of dead celebrities.

It's likely that the re-appearance of their blue ticks is part of a wider (but unannounced) scheme by Twitter to restore verification to users with over one million followers. But hover over the blue ticks of the accounts of dead celebs, and Twitter will tell you they're verified "because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number."

Michael Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, Barbara Walters …

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LeBron James didn’t pay for his Twitter checkmark, but Elon Musk gave it to him anyway

2023-04-20T18:05:36-04:00

Twitter has started getting rid of legacy blue checks for those who don't pay up. Well, unless you're LeBron James and a couple of other celebrities.

The Verge has confirmed that an employee at Twitter recently emailed James, who has previously said he wouldn't pay for verification, to "extend a complimentary subscription to Twitter Blue for your account, @kingjames, on behalf of Elon Musk."

James' longtime media advisor, Adam Mendelsohn, confirmed to The Verge that James hasn't paid to be verified. After we first published this story, Musk said on Twitter that he's paying "a few" subscriptions "personally," including for the accounts belo …

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Twitter begins removing blue checkmarks from all legacy users

2023-04-20T14:16:55-04:00

Twitter has begun removing blue checkmarks en masse from legacy verified accounts, fulfilling one of owner Elon Musk's long-stated plans for the social media network.

The change is apparent on Twitter accounts for several Verge writers and other journalists like LA Times reporter Matt Pearce, with the verification logos occasionally disappearing and reappearing between page reloads.

Two different browser sessions, one Twitter profile.. Which one is the real Matt Pearce? | Image: Twitter" data-portal-copyright="Image: Twitter">

Historically, the aim of Twitter's verification system was to ensure that accounts from notable individuals and organizations who freely contributed content to the social media platform were actually being run by those individuals and organizations. Instead, Mu …

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Twitter promises it’s really, actually removing legacy blue checks very soon

2023-04-19T19:19:47-04:00

Twitter reiterated today that it's going to remove legacy verified checkmarks Thursday, April 20th. Yes, that does mean Elon Musk's Twitter intends to remove the last vestiges of what he once deemed the "lords & peasants system" on 4/20, ha ha.

The thing is, I won't believe Twitter until it actually happens. The company originally said that it would "begin" removing checkmarks on April 1st, but as far as I know, that hasn't taken place. (Well, outside of Twitter removing The New York Times' verified checkmark after the publication said it wouldn't pay the reportedly high fees for organizational accounts, but it seems like Musk made sure tha …

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PBS also stops tweeting after being hit with ‘government-funded media’ label

2023-04-13T04:38:07-04:00

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has stopped tweeting from its primary Twitter account after it was given a "government-funded media" label. As of this writing the @PBS account hasn't tweeted since April 8th, and the organization has since confirmed that it currently has "no plans" to resume posting to Twitter.

"PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time," PBS spokesman Jason Phelps tells Bloomberg. "We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely." While PBS isn't tweeting from its main account, it's continued to put out content on affiliated accoun …

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NPR becomes first major news organization to leave Twitter

2023-04-12T11:57:28-04:00

NPR has announced that it will no longer use Twitter to distribute its content after the social media platform began labeling the network as "US state-affiliated media," putting it in the same category as government mouthpiece publications like RT and China Daily. NPR is the first major news organization to pull from the platform and comes at a time when Twitter CEO Elon Musk's relationship with the press is at a low point.

NPR's main Twitter account has been silent since getting the label a week ago, but CEO John Lansing made the stance official in a memo sent to staffers Wednesday morning. "We are not putting our journalism on platforms t …

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Elon Musk says Twitter’s For You page will only recommend verified accounts

2023-03-27T20:29:15-04:00

Twitter users will need a "verified account" to get recommended on the platform's For You page starting on April 15th, according to a Monday evening tweet from CEO Elon Musk.

Given that Twitter has promised to start dismantling the "legacy" verified system at the beginning of April, that appears to mean that you'll have to be a company, government entity, or Twitter Blue subscriber if you want to pop into the feeds of people who don't follow you. Musk clarified on Tuesday that accounts you already follow will show up in For You, too, "since you have explicitly asked for them."

Musk claims the move is "the only realistic way to address adva …

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Twitter Blue subscribers may be able to hide their blue checks

2023-03-24T14:02:00-04:00

Twitter may be working on a feature that lets you hide the blue checkmark you got by paying for its Blue subscription. A screen found by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi shows that the company is working on a control panel for verification settings, with one of the options being "Show or hide your blue checkmark on your profile."

This report should definitely be taken with a grain of salt, given that it appears to be an in-development feature that Twitter hasn't announced (and that the company's taking a long time to ship things it has said are coming). However, I can see why Twitter might want to add it. Depending on what part of the site …

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Twitter claims ‘legacy’ blue checkmarks will start to disappear on April Fools’ Day

2023-03-23T19:01:32-04:00

Twitter has announced that it'll start "winding down" its legacy verified program and removing "legacy verified checkmarks" starting on April 1st, and is telling users to subscribe to its Blue subscription if they want to keep their blue check.

There's a lot to unpack here. First, the announcement isn't necessarily a surprise. CEO Elon Musk has been promising to get rid of "legacy" blue check marks, or verification badges that were given under Twitter's previous rules, since November, and he's reiterated that they'd be going away "in coming months" several times. According to Musk, those verification badges were given out in a "corrupt and …

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