Soon, the only blue checks left on Twitter will belong to users that pay for Twitter Blue. Elon Musk revealed today that the final date for legacy blue checks will be April 20th. Given the date, it’s hard to say for sure if this will actually be the final date, or if it’s just an attempt at humor, but verified Twitter users will likely see their blue checks removed on that date, unless they’re willing to pay Twitter Blue’s monthly subscription fee of $8.
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The Tweet from Elon Musk revealing the date can be found embedded below.
Blue checks have been a source of controversy since Musk took ownership of Twitter. Under the original Twitter ownership, verification was a way of correctly identifying celebrities, journalists, and other people of interest. Blue checks prevented users from impersonating others and damaging their reputations. Having these types of users on the platform is a major draw for Twitter, so it’s always made sense to have the feature. However, Musk has long seen the blue check as a status symbol, and Twitter Blue has opened it up to anyone willing to pay.
Unfortunately for Musk, many of Twitter’s most prominent users have refused to spend the money. Musk initially expected users to spend $20 per month for the blue check, but famously dropped the price to $8 after Stephen King balked at the cost. That lower figure hasn’t convinced many that spending the amount is worth it, and it will be interesting to see if that changes after April 20th.
There’s a strong argument to be made that Twitter should be paying some of its biggest users, rather than the other way around. At the end of the day, having people like Stephen King and LeBron James creating original content for the platform is a major benefit, and if those users decide to go elsewhere, it’s going to hurt Twitter. For better or worse, it’s Musk’s platform and his decision to make.
Are you planning to sign up for Twitter Blue? Do you think removing legacy blue checks will hurt the platform? Let us know in the comments or sharedirectly onTwitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!