Top celebrities, institutions are refusing to pay for Twitter Blue
What's the story
Twitter made it a must for users to pay $8 (Rs. 659 in India) if they wanted to retain the verification badge (blue tick) starting April 1. However, this move irked certain entities who enjoyed a free verified status on their legacy accounts. Actor William Shatner, basketball legend LeBron James, and The New York Times are among those who refused to pay for verification.
Problem
What is the issue?
Earlier, accounts were verified based on different parameters. The process was opaque and was accused of biases. Now, under Elon Musk, users have to get a Twitter Blue subscription to enjoy the verified badge and other features. It seems that those who got verified via the old method are unhappy at the loss of their privilege, and want to take a jab at Twitter.
Claims
Shatner and James are strictly opposed to Twitter Blue
Shatner of Star Trek fame has 2.5 million Twitter followers. He said, "Now you're telling me that I have to pay for something you gave me for free? What is this - the Columbia Records & Tapes Club?" Meanwhile, James (52 million followers) tweeted, "Welp guess my blue check mark will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain't paying the 5."
Media
Top news outlets are refusing to toe the line
Global international news outlets such as BuzzFeed, Washington Post, Politico, Vox, and the Los Angeles Times have also refused to pay for verification. However, their verified badges have not been removed yet. Meanwhile, The New York Times refused to toe the line and the publication's verified badge was removed from its profile. The clash is getting ugly.
Twitter Post
Musk accused NYT of being "hypocritical"
NY Times is being incredible hypocritical here, as they are super aggressive about forcing everyone to pay *their* subscription
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023
Official
The US government is not paying for verified status
The US government too has decided not to pay for Twitter Blue. White House director of digital strategy Rob Flaherty claimed that the service did not provide person-level verification, adding, "thus, a blue check mark will now simply serve as a verification that the account is a paid user." As of now, the profile named "The White House" has a gray badge.
Information
Twitter rival Koo is not charging for verification
Back in India, Twitter's rival Koo is not charging users for a verified badge. This move was announced in November last year, by Koo CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna. Whether certain celebrities will migrate from Twitter to Koo here, remains to be seen.