New Twitter boss Elon Musk wants you to pay for your blue tick by subscribing to a service called 'Twitter Blue' | Photo: iStock
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man wants more money and verified Twitter users may have to pay $20 (R365) per month, or lose Blue Tick verification status.
The social media site’s new owner, whose profile now reads “Chief Twit”, paid $44 billion to buy the company and said the verification process on the platform, which adds a blue tick next to a user’s profile name, is being revamped.
The South African born owner of Tesla, Space X and now Twitter announced the plan in a tweet when a user said that he was denied the prestigious blue tick despite having a large follower base.
While the official details about the new verification process remain unclear, The Verge reported the company will soon charge users for the blue tick.
Users would have to subscribe to Twitter Blue at $4.99 (R91) a month or lose their “verified” badges if the project moves forward, according to the report.
The report further stated that Twitter Blue verification process to be charged will be $19.99 for subscription and that employees working on the project were told to meet a deadline of 7 November to launch the feature or they will be fired.
Currently only available in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Twitter Blue’s launch has struggled with niche appeal and limited features.
Elon Musk has not made a final decision on the matter and the project could still be scrapped. But according to the Platformer, it is likely that verification will become a part of Twitter Blue.
On Friday, Musk tweeted that Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.
“No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.”
As per Twitter helppage, the blue Verified badge on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic. To be Verified, your account must be notable and active. Currently, anyone can apply for Twitter Verification.
One of Elon Musk’s first decisions after walking into the company with a bathroom sink was to sack Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and head of legal affairs Vijaya Gadde, according to several US media outlets.
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The billionaire entrepreneur will have to find replacements for them.
“Elon Musk is in the unenviable position of convincing seasoned executives to work for him at a platform that he has publicly disparaged,” said Jasmine Enberg, an analyst for Insider Intelligence.
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