As announced, Twitter began removing the free verification checkmarks that used to be given away for free to celebrities and relevant people on Thursday. Now only paying subscribers of the short message service have the same looking symbol on their profiles – but without real verification of their identity. Among the celebrities whose accounts were without the white check mark on a blue background on Thursday were soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, actress Halle Berry and numerous musicians such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Shakira and Justin Timberlake.
Now anyone can pretend to be her, criticized the singer Dionne Warwick, whose account also lost the verification checkmark. The symbols were introduced so that users could be sure that no one was pretending to be celebrities, politicians or athletes.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk claimed that the procedure for awarding the ticks was "corrupt". That's why everyone should pay for it now. Many celebrities announced that they will not subscribe to Musk's Twitter.
At Twitter, advertising revenue has traditionally brought in the majority of the business. After Musk's takeover, there was an exodus of advertisers. He is now hoping more for subscription revenues from users and companies. Making the checkmark icon part of a subscription is part of the plan.
With the new model, there is actual verification only for companies. However, they should also pay significantly more money for their golden yellow tick: 950 euros per month instead of the 9.52 euros for individual users.
Musk had taken over the short message service last October for 44 billion dollars (around 40 billion euros today). In the course of a chaotic restructuring of the platform, the pugnacious entrepreneur dismissed Twitter's top management and more than two-thirds of its 7500 employees.
According to critics, hate speech and misinformation on the platform have increased sharply since then. Twitter has repeatedly had to struggle with technical problems in recent months and has lost many advertisers.