April 1 should be the deadline – anyone who previously had a blue tick on Twitter and now doesn’t want to pay should lose it. So far nothing has happened. Maybe that’s because nobody cares.
After the takeover by Elon Musk, Twitter is in the deep red – the mountain of debt that the US billionaire brought with him is gigantic. In order to save the finances, the new company owner came up with a few ideas: paused rent payments, mass layoffs, ignored bills, company flea market. But the big cleanup is not just limited to the company’s offices and employees, but also to the platform itself. In Musk’s eyes, the formerly coveted blue tick in particular is a promising lever that can be used to make a lot of money. In theory.
Musk has long announced that users with an “old” blue tick, which at the time was only available if the account was that of a celebrity, company or person of public interest, would have this privilege revoked . Deadline: April 1, 2023 — no kidding.
If you still want to own a blue tick after this historical date, you have to buy “Twitter Blue”. This is a subscription model from the company that bundles various advantages. If you pay between 8.33 and 9.52 euros per month, you get many functions and privileges that are not available to users with a free account.
So far, Elon Musk has not removed any ticks – but has received a lot of criticism
But nothing has happened so far. The old blue ticks are still where they always were on April 2nd. Musk hasn’t given a reason for this so far – maybe it’s technical in nature. Or maybe it’s because no one seems to care when the sacred mark disappears. At least that’s what countless tweets from big names show, which according to their own statements are not willing to pay for the subscription.
LeBron James, William Shatner, Karl Urban, Ice T and Chrissy Teigen, for example, all all agree that while everyone could arguably afford it, they won’t pay a penny for the hook.
One hears the same thing from companies, for example the renowned “New York Times”. “CNN” reporter Oliver Darcy spoke to the media group and a spokesman said: “We do not intend to pay the monthly fee for verifying our institutional Twitter accounts.” The “Los Angeles Times”, “Buzzfeed”, “Politico”, “Vox Media”, “Washington Post” and “CNN” as well.
There is a specific reason for this: Since anyone who is able to store payment information can buy the blue checkmark, the mark inevitably loses its meaning. If it used to be a guarantee that a celebrity was actually that person and that news from a company really came from their pen, the Blue subscription opens the door to counterfeiters and imitators on Twitter. One example is the “punicaDE” account, which has since been deleted, and which quite a few people and media have fallen for.
Musk takes revenge on the New York Times
Musk, who is known for his impulsiveness, apparently has a problem with his strategy not being accompanied solely by cheers. The “New York Times” in particular feels this. After a Musk fan crafted a meme showing the New York Times not willing to pay for Twitter, Musk wrote, “Fine, we’ll take the hook off them.” Said and done. The newspaper’s largest Twitter account is now tick-free. Smaller accounts, such as NYTimesTech, have retained the status so far.
But that wasn’t enough for Musk. He followed up, later writing, “The real tragedy of The New York Times is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting. Plus, their feed is the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea. It’s illegible. You’d have a lot more real followers if they would only publish their top articles. The same goes for all publications.”
The “New York Times”, like almost all major media outlets, does not curate the content of the Twitter account, but automatically uploads all articles published on the website.
Even the White House doesn’t want to pay for Twitter
It is not known when all other previously verified accounts will follow and also lose their hook. At least it wasn’t there on the deadline. In the background, Twitter seems to be working on exceptions anyway. It is said that the 10,000 most-followed companies, for example, do not have to pay a verification fee to give themselves an official image on Twitter.
Presumably, the decline in this area would also be quite large: Musk announced that he wanted to take up to $ 1,000 a month to verify a company account. Even the White House said to “Axios” that they were not willing to participate. For a known reason: The new ticks are just a kind of invoice receipt, but not proof of the authenticity of an account.
