Mabel R. Acton
Twitter will remove all legacy blue checkmarks “in a few months,” according to a tweet from CEO Elon Musk.
“The way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical,” tweeted Musk.
Before Musk bought Twitter, checkmarks were used to verify individuals and entities as active, authentic and notable accounts of interest. On Monday, the social media platform relaunched its Twitter Blue subscription plan after a dicey first attempt. The subscription gives anyone willing to shell out $8 per month (or $11 per month on iOS because screw you, App Store) a blue checkmark next to their name, fewer ads on their timeline, boosted posts and other features.
This past week, many blue checkmark holders have been seeing a pop-up when they click on their blue checkmark that reads, “This is a legacy verified account. It may or may not be notable.”
Twitter is still working out the kinks of this controversial revenue stream. The company also just updated its terms to specify that users will be required to verify phone numbers before purchasing Twitter Blue. Users also won’t be able to change their username, display name or profile picture seven days prior to buying the plan.
Twitter has also warned that if already paying subscribers do change any of those identifiers, their blue check might disappear until Twitter can re-verify them. That extra-cautious move seems due to the initial rollout of Twitter Blue, which resulted in rampant, and often hilarious, account impersonations.
