Elon Musk’s Twitter will revoke verification for users who don’t pay

Elon Musk’s Twitter recently announced that it will soon end its old verification system and remove blue ticks from users if they don’t pay for the Twitter Blue subscription service.

NBC News reports that Twitter has announced it will end its old verification system that provided blue checkmarks to accounts deemed authentic and in the public interest. The social media company revealed on Thursday that the old system will be phased out from April 1. The Twitter Blue subscription service, which was introduced last year, serves as the platform’s new verification system.

In the past, the verification program was created for notable people on Twitter, such as celebrities, government figures, journalists and others, but was inconsistent and biased against conservatives. Verification of news feeds, fan accounts, parodies and similar accounts was not allowed. However, the new Twitter Blue system will change the requirements for receiving a blue checkmark by no longer requiring accounts to be accepted by left-leaning employees in Silicon Valley.

Users also have the ability to edit and delete tweets with Twitter Blue, a service that costs $8 per month. Company CEO Elon Musk unveiled the subscription service shortly after buying Twitter in October. According to Musk, Twitter Blue will increase revenue while reducing bot and trolling activity. The service was temporarily suspended shortly after launch due to people using the new blue ticks to impersonate celebrities and brands, but was relaunched in December.

Despite the change in verification requirements, the sudden change might not be as significant as first thought. Musk assured users that those “affiliated with a verified organization” would always be verified in a tweet early Friday morning. This suggests that many professionals who use Twitter could keep their current verification checkmarks or get new ones following the system update.