If you spend time on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed the little blue checkmarks next to some account names. When Elon Musk bought the company last fall, he said the checkmarks, which verify that a Twitter user is who or what they say they are, would soon require a monthly fee.
Last Saturday was the deadline to pay up, or risk losing the checkmark. But with some high-profile exceptions, most “legacy” checkmark holders still have them.
Tech expert Omar Gallaga told Texas Standard that the threat to the verification system has changed the way people view the marks.
Highlights from this segment:
– Musk announced that checkmark holders would lose them if they didn’t pay $8 per month for the Twitter Blue service. And once paid, the checkmark, without further verification, would appear on paid accounts.
– Twitter removed the blue checkmark from the main New York Times account. Musk has feuded with the Times over the years about its coverage of him and his businesses. National Public Radio’s profile and all of the network’s tweets now bear a “state-affiliated media” label. That’s the same designation given to media outlets of the Russian and Chinese governments.
– Because Twitter users no longer know whether a blue checkmark represents a verified account or a newly paid one, the value of the mark has diminished on the platform.
