From Mamta Banerjee to Shah Rukh Khan, most verified Twitter accounts lost their blue ticks on 20 April, as owner Elon Musk had pledged previously. The symbol that was used to signify a verified account vanished from Twitter accounts of many high-profile users, including politician Rahul Gandhi, badminton player Saina Nehwal, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, actor Alia Bhatt, and Amitabh Bachchan.
Twitter had about 300,000 verified users under the original blue-check system — many of them journalists, athletes and public figures, according to AP. After Musk bought the social media platform, he pledged to get rid of the blue ticks, which he described as the "lords & peasants system," as reported by AFP. He previously offered the blue badge to anyone who would pay $8 a month (approximately ₹657) to “democratize journalism & empower the voice of the people.”
Musk's chaotic ownership of Twitter has led to thousands of staff being laid off and advertisers leaving the platform. Users have complained that hate speech and misinformation have increased and accounts with extreme views are getting traction. With no system to signify verified accounts, misinformation is bound to increase.
Many government agencies, nonprofits and public-service accounts worldwide also lost the verification, setting off concerns that Twitter could lose its status as a platform for getting accurate, up-to-date information from authentic sources, including in emergencies, as reported by AP.
While blue ticks are vanishing, Musk has announced a new service where Twitter users will be able to offer their followers subscriptions to content, including long-form text and hours-long video, according to a Reuters report. This feature can be accessed by the users through the “Monetization” tab in settings. Although Twitter will not take a cut for the first 12 months, there will be charges from platforms such as the Android and iOS levy.
"That's 70% for subscriptions on iOS & Android (they charge 30%) and ~92% on the web (could be better, depending on payment processor)," Musk said in a tweet. The social media platform will also help promote the creators' work and maximize earnings. This is yet another revenue-boosting change that is brought to Twitter after the platform saw advertising income drop last year.
