Elon Musk is wasting no time.
Just days into his $44 billion Twitter takeover, the self-proclaimed “Chief Twit” already has plans to turn a profit, starting with targeting users who want or already have blue checkmarks.
Sources told The Verge that Twitter is planning to charge $19.99 per month for users to be verified on the social media platform.
According to editor Alex Heath, verified users would have 90 days to subscribe to this plan in order to keep the coveted blue checkmark.
“The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” Musk tweeted on Sunday, with no details about the reported plan.
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If $20 sounds like a steep price for a little checkmark beside your name, that’s because it is. Users have never had to pay to be verified on Twitter since the social media site’s inception.
The plan is actually an update of Twitter Blue, the company’s optional $4.99 monthly subscription that launched last year.
It gives users access to “premium features” like the Undo Tweet option, which allows people to fix typos.
Now, the price is apparently set to increase by $15 to include a Twitter verification.
Employees working on the project were given a deadline of November 7 to launch the plan or they will be fired, reported The Verge.
And, of course, there are a lot of opinions about this supposed fee.
Twitter: “We charging $20 a month for verification”
Everybody: pic.twitter.com/671TYTPow1
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) October 31, 2022
Many point out that this changes the purpose of the blue checkmark.
“It’s supposed to help combat disinformation, not be a status symbol,” tweeted one person.
The point of Twitter verification is that for certain individuals/organizations it’s useful to be able to verify their statements are coming from them. (This is why so many journalists/reporters are verified.) It’s supposed to help combat disinformation, not be a status symbol.
— Katie Mack (@AstroKatie) October 31, 2022
“Verification helps users figure out who is trusted/who they say they are. This is…not going to clean up this app,” tweeted VICE reporter Sophia Smith Galer.
Twitter is the last remaining social platform where the main reason for use is seeing the latest news + where users actually want to follow mainstream news accounts. Verification helps users figure out who is trusted/who they say they are. This is…not going to clean up this app.
— Sophia Smith Galer (@sophiasgaler) October 31, 2022
Others think paying for a checkmark is just cringe.
Hilarious thing is, I’m a current twitter Blue subscriber, but I’ll need to unsubscribe if they make verification conditional to having a Twitter Blue subscription because paying for a check mark is 100% cringe. @TwitterBlue https://t.co/i3XmiF66TF
— Hank Green (@hankgreen) October 30, 2022
It seems the meaning of Twitter verification is about to change from “A somewhat prominent figure who is who they say they are” to “Someone who has $20 to blow on something completely worthless.”
— Dan Stapleton (@DanStapleton) October 31, 2022
And there are those who think this is a smart move by Musk and Twitter.
Blue checks being forced to pay for their verification or lose it is genius.
Twitter value is 🚀
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) October 31, 2022
Musk confirmed his takeover of Twitter on October 27 after months of back-and-forth with the social media company.
In an alarming outcome, the social media platform saw the use of racial slurs spike in the immediate hours after Musk’s acquisition.