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He started removing all legacy blue checkmarks this week — but it seems to have backfired. Here are some of the best memes to have come from the social-media chaos. Twitter started removing legacy blue checkmarks on Thursday, as Elon Musk targeted what he described as a "deeply corrupted," "lords & peasants" system. Musk is even paying for certain celebrities to stay on Twitter Blue, including Stephen King, LeBron James, and William Shatner — all of whom either criticized the new arrangement or refused to pay. Insider browsed the social-media app for some of the best memes to have come out of the chaos.
Users must now pay $8 a month for Twitter Blue if they want to remain verified. As blue checks disappeared, a "Block the Blue" campaign is targeting those paying for Twitter Blue. Twitter users are dissing the remaining verified accounts after legacy blue checkmarks finally started disappearing Thursday. Twitter has undergone a series of changes since Elon Musk took over in October, and its latest move took away blue checkmarks from public figures who chose not to pay $8 a month for Twitter Blue. The memes and criticism of Twitter Blue users are rolling in as more move to block anyone with a blue checkmark next to their name.
Twitter removed the blue checkmarks on Thursday for all users who didn't subscribe to Twitter Blue. That included several of the English Premier League's elite soccer players, who hit back at Elon Musk. Elite soccer players from England's Premier League took aim at Elon Musk after their blue checkmarks were taken away on Thursday. Twitter Blue led to several trolls impersonating high-profile accounts, while those who've paid for the blue checkmark have been mocked. Meanwhile, Gary Lineker — a former England soccer player who now hosts the BBC's "Match of the Day" — said he had subscribed to Twitter Blue.
Twitter begins removing legacy blue checkmarks
  + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: 1 min
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTwitter begins removing legacy blue checkmarksTwitter has begun removing legacy blue checkmarks for formerly verified users who declined to pay for a subscription. CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin reports.
April 20 (Reuters) - Twitter on Thursday began removing legacy blue checkmarks from user profiles, with famous people including pop icon Beyonce and Pope Francis losing their verified statuses. Some personalities such as basketball star LeBron James and author Stephen King still had their checkmarks. "The Shining" author King, who has previously called Musk a terrible fit for Twitter, tweeted: "My Twitter account says I've subscribed to Twitter Blue. My Twitter account says I've given a phone number. U.S. non-profit National Public Radio (NPR) stopped posting content on its 52 official Twitter feeds after Twitter labeled it "state-affiliated media" and later "government-funded media".
Official Twitter account of Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, is displayed on a mobile phone screen photographed for the illustration photo. Elon Musk-owned Twitter has quietly dropped labeling that identified state-affiliated and government-funded accounts for officials and media outlets, including designations used to identify President Joe Biden's account as authentic. The shift on Friday also saw the removal of controversial labels added to media accounts earlier this month. Musk's Twitter had marked the accounts of several media outlets, including NPR, the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., as "state-affiliated." The BBC is funded by a nationally imposed TV license but doesn't meet the conventional definition of "state-affiliated media."
K-Pop supergroup BTS — like hundreds of other celebrities — lost its blue checkmark on Twitter. At press time, the band had not paid to restore its blue checkmark under Elon Musk's Twitter Blue. On Thursday, Musk tweeted that he's personally funding some celebrities' Twitter Blue statuses — but did not specifically say whose subscriptions he's paying for. It's unclear who's paying for the Twitter Blue subscriptions on Hybe's and BTS' official accounts. Other K-Pop groups have also refused to give Musk $8 for Twitter Blue.
Twitter appeared to start removing legacy blue checkmarks from many accounts on Thursday. Some Twitter users are watching their legacy blue checkmarks disappear from their accounts as Elon Musk implements an $8 monthly subscription program. Notable business figures including Bill Gates, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and "Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran no longer showed blue checkmarks on their Twitter accounts Thursday afternoon. The only way users can keep their blue checkmarks is to sign up to Twitter Blue, a subscription program that costs $8 a month. Twitter Blue has sparked controversy since it was rolled out.
New York CNN —Twitter appears to have quietly rolled back a portion of its hateful conduct policy that included specific protections for transgender people. The policy previously stated that Twitter prohibits “targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. The change to the hateful conduct policy is one of a number of updates Twitter has made to its safety and content moderation practices since Elon Musk took over the company last fall. LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD called out the hateful conduct policy change in a Tuesday statement. The billionaire tried to assuage advertisers about Twitter’s approach to hateful conduct at a marketing conference Tuesday, saying, “If somebody has something hateful to say, it doesn’t mean you should give them a megaphone,” according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
NPR said Wednesday it will stop sharing content on Twitter after the social media company labeled NPR "state-affiliated media," a term also used for Russia- and China-based propaganda outlets. NPR was surprised by Twitter's decision to label the company "state-affiliated media," according to a report by the outlet. NPR CEO John Lansing told his employees that NPR "will not immediately return to the platform" even if Twitter drops the designation. He stripped the news organization's verification checkmark shortly thereafter, citing the company's refusal to pay for the platform's revamped Twitter Blue subscription service. Twitter relaunched its updated Twitter Blue subscription service in December after Musk pulled and delayed the launch in November.
New York CNN —Under Elon Musk, Twitter has antagonized multiple major news organizations by labeling them state-funded media, appears to have eased restrictions on Russian government accounts and made crude jokes on the front of its headquarters and on Musk’s own Twitter display name. Musk has said Twitter is working to improve the platform’s ad targeting to increase value for advertisers. But it didn’t exactly go to plan — instead of removing checks from all previously verified users, Twitter appeared to target a single account belonging to the New York Times. Days later, Twitter’s home button was temporarily replaced with doge, the meme representing the cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. The company also briefly restricted Twitter users from sharing links to a rival platform, upsetting users, including one who had previously reported the so-called Twitter files using documents provided by Musk.
Around 2.6 million people visited the Twitter Blue sales page last month, and 116,000 signed up. The New York Times, CNN, and The White House have said they wouldn't pay for Twitter Blue. That's about a 40% increase on The Information's February report that Twitter had 290,000 Blue subscribers globally. Elon Musk has been taking steps to make Twitter Blue more attractive in recent weeks. Twitter users have often mocked those who paid for the status, prompting the company to work on a feature that lets Twitter Blue subscribers hide the checkmark, per The Verge.
Elon Musk appeared to offer a $1 million bounty to help find the source of "botnets" on Twitter. The user said by taking control of several accounts, botnets were able to suppress certain accounts by mass blocking, unfollowing, and reporting them. Blogger Jane Wong pointed out that Twitter's algorithm specifically labels if Musk wrote a tweet. He plans to allow only the tweets of verified accounts and those users follow on the For You feed. "Legacy verified accounts," those verified by Twitter before Musk's takeover for free largely on the basis of noteworthiness, will begin to lose their verification marks this weekend, according to Twitter.
The first day of Twitter's previously announced axing of "legacy" verified checks nearly passed without incident. However, Twitter CEO Elon Musk was presented with a meme about the New York Times not intending to pay to keep its check. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said, and the Times' gold check disappeared overnight. "Oh ok, we'll take it off then," Musk said in another response Saturday night, and the Times' gold check disappeared sometime overnight. Both James and Alexander still have blue check marks as of Sunday afternoon.
Some news organizations say they won't pay for their reporters to get Twitter Blue. The New York Times and LA Times said they won't pay to get their Twitter accounts verified either. One of his most contentious projects has been to drastically switch up Twitter Blue, the site's subscription service. Twitter Blue is also required for accounts to get blue checkmarks next to their names. "Now a Blue checkmark just says they are a Twitter Blue subscriber.
Several news outlets and high-profile Twitter users have said they don't plan to pay for Twitter Blue. As of Saturday afternoon, the "legacy" checks appear to remain active across the platform. Individuals can subscribe to Twitter Blue for $8 per month. Several news outlets have said they don't plan to pay for the gold check. Others don't plan to reimburse journalists who pay for Twitter Blue, largely saying that since blue checks only convey a user paid $8, they no longer provide the credibility they once did, according to CNN.
William Shatner called Twitter Blue a "money grab." Musk responded to Shatner, saying that celebrities should be treated the same as everyone else on Twitter. Shatner replied to the billionaire, saying: "Somewhere, Twitter lost its way." He added that Twitter doesn't stop another William Shatner from being verified with the subscription service. Shatner said Twitter Blue seemed to be a "money grab."
Elon Musk overtook Barack Obama on Thursday to become Twitter's most followed account. Five months after buying the social-media platform, Musk has over 133 million followers. The Twitter CEO posted 72 times on Monday, and has his tweets boosted by engineers, per Platformer. According to the follower-tracking site SocialBlade, Musk saw the biggest increase last April – the month he first offered to buy Twitter – gaining 9.7 million followers. The Twitter CEO became the sixth-user to cross the 100 million mark last June, according to The Verge, which first reported the news.
New York CNN —News organizations have a message for Elon Musk: We are not going to pay you for checkmarks on Twitter. Historically, a blue checkmark placed next to the name of an account has indicated that the social media company has confirmed the identity of the person or business operating it. Musk earlier this year launched Twitter Blue, a subscription service that costs $8 a month. A blue checkmark. POLITICO additionally said it will not pay for Twitter Blue.
Elon Musk Twitter account seen on Mobile with Elon Musk in the background on screen, seen in this photo illustration. Elon Musk said that only verified accounts will appear in Twitter's recommendation feed, as the billionaire further shakes up the social media platform. To date, this has showed accounts from any Twitter users, whether they are verified or not. Musk also said that only verified users will be able to vote in polls. Twitter said last week that it would begin to wind down its "legacy verified program" and remove "legacy verified" check marks on Apr.
Elon Musk said Twitter users must have good customer service, and that he was working on it. Customers of his other companies have said they're disappointed at the lack of customer service. "Of course, you need to have good customer service for money," Musk tweeted, adding he was "working on it." Some commented on how slow and unresponsive Tesla's customer service was, while others said it was quick and easy. Are you a Starlink user or Tesla owner who is disappointed with the company's customer service?
Elon Musk says only verified subscribers will be recommended in Twitter's timeline. Voting in polls will also be exclusive to users verified under Twitter Blue. Musk rolled out his new verification system, including Twitter Blue, shortly after acquiring the platform for $44 billion in late October. Since then, Twitter has been introducing features to try and encourage more Twitter Blue sign-ups, including a way to edit tweets and a longer character limit for subscribers. Musk has publically voiced his disdain for Twitter's old verification system on several occasions, once calling it "deeply corrupted."
Elon Musk told William Shatner there shouldn't be different standards for celebrities on Twitter. Twitter says the only way users can keep their blue ticks is by signing up to Twitter Blue, a monthly subscription which costs $8. Stephen King, Josh Gad, and Lynda Carter were among the celebrities to criticize Musk over charging Twitter users for a blue tick. Before Blue Origin sent Shatner into space on an 11-minute journey, Musk commented "Godspeed Captain" on NASA's Twitter post. Following the flight, the billionaire tweeted: "Congrats, was cool to send William Shatner to space."
New York CNN —Elon Musk and William Shatner clashed on Twitter over the weekend after the Star Trek actor complained about being forced to pay to keep his blue checkmark on the platform. In a tweet on Saturday, Shatner expressed frustration with Twitter’s plan to remove blue checkmarks from the accounts of celebrities, journalists, government officials and other high-profile individuals who don’t pay $84 a year (or $8 a month) for its subscription service, Twitter Blue. “Hey @elonmusk what’s this about blue checks going away unless we pay Twitter?” he tweeted. In the process, Twitter risks alienating some of the VIP users who have long been a key draw for millions to use the platform. Twitter said it will “begin winding down” the “legacy” blue checks for users on April 1.
Companies have hit out at Elon Musk for charging them $1,000 a month to stay verified on Twitter. Twitter plans to make users and organizations on Twitter pay to keep their blue checkmark. Twitter said it's planning to remove legacy verified blue ticks from users' accounts starting on April 1 — that's April Fools' day. He said the bedding firm wouldn't miss being verified because the blue checkmark didn't offer a noticeable boost in engagement. Among the Twitter users that criticized the change was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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