Pretty soon, previously verified Twitter accounts will lose their check marks unless they start paying for them. The website has announced that it’s starting to wind down [its] legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks” on April 1. It was never a secret that the company planned to do this. Shortly after Twitter Blue first launched in November 2022, company executive Elon Musk said said that “far too many corrupt legacy Blue ‘authentication’ checks exist” and that the company will remove them in the coming months.
On April 1, we will begin phasing out our legacy verified program and removing obsolete verified checkmarks. To maintain your blue check mark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOpLp
Organizations can sign up for https://t.co/RlN5BbuGA3…
— Twitter verified (@verified) March 23, 2023
Now it seems the time has come for aging verified users to get rid of their blue ticks — that is, if Twitter isn’t just laying the groundwork for an April Fools joke. After all, Musk thinks he’s funny. It is also unclear whether the website plans to remove their verified checkmarks all at once or in batches. We were going to contact the company to ask for clarification, but then all we got back was a poop emoji.
Twitter’s announcement for a deprecated verified user came just as Blue subscriptions became available worldwide. Previously only accessible within certain regions, this rollout puts the service within reach of most people. In addition to getting a blue check next to their username, paying subscribers can create 4,000-character tweets, edit their posts, and enjoy higher reply rankings. Expanding Blue’s availability is necessary if Twitter is to meet Musk’s goal of getting half of its revenue from subscriptions. We’ll just have to wait and see if enough people around the world are willing to shell out $8 a month (or $11, if paying through the iOS app) for the benefits.
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