Twitter Integrity and Credibility in Question with Paid Verified Mark Scheme for Anyone
Public figure, artists, journalists, celebrities and other notable figures who have not paid for their badge may see the blue check on their accounts disappear starting Saturday, but some verified users with large accounts on the platform say they’re not worried about losing their status. Some say they will be leaving the platform once it vanishes, some will be paying, some say they won’t, and some aren’t sure.
Some think it’s now a stained mark of shame.
So funny that Musk made the blue check a mark of shame.
— Tom Bell (@HenriDeMarsay) April 2, 2023
Some users have already lost their verified badges already. The New York Times has over 55 MILLION followers and it lost its verified badge.
Who Paid and Who’s Authentically Verified?
You can tell who has paid and who is still verified. If you use Google Chrome, however, you can install the extension “Eight Dollars” to do what Twitter won’t. Once installed, it replaces the blue check with one of two new badges: “Actually Verified,” or “Paid for Verification.”
Per Twitter’s website:
What does the blue checkmark mean?
The blue checkmark means that the account has an active subscription to Twitter Blue and meets our eligibility requirements.
Starting April 1, we’ll be winding down our legacy Verification program and accounts that were verified under the previous criteria (active, notable, and authentic) will not retain a blue checkmark unless they are subscribed to Twitter Blue.
Subscribers will need to meet our eligibility criteria below to receive or retain the blue checkmark.
Eligibility criteria for the blue checkmark
Only accounts actively subscribed to Twitter Blue are eligible to receive the blue checkmark.
Our team uses an eligibility criteria on when the checkmark is given to ensure we maintain the integrity of the platform. Your account must meet the following criteria to receive or retain the blue checkmark:
- Complete: Your account must have a display name and profile photo
- Active use: Your account must be active in the past 30 days to subscribe to Twitter Blue
- Security: Your account must be older than 30 days upon subscription and have a confirmed phone number
- Non-Deceptive:
- Your account must have no recent changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle)
- Your account must have no signs of being misleading or deceptive
- Your account must have no signs of engaging in platform manipulation and spam
The checkmark will appear once our team reviews your Twitter Blue subscribed account and if it meets our requirements.As a result of this change, Twitter will no longer be accepting applications for the blue Verification checkmarks under the previous criteria (active, notable, and authentic).
Loss of the blue checkmark
In accordance with the Twitter Terms of Service, including our Purchaser terms, Twitter may remove the checkmark of an account at any time without notice.
To minimize confusion and promote integrity on the platform, changes to your profile photo, display name, or username (@handle) will result in a temporary loss of the blue checkmark until your account is validated as continuing to meet our requirements. No further changes to your profile photo, display name, or username will be allowed during this review period.
The checkmark will appear again once our team reviews your Twitter Blue subscribed account and if it continues to meet our requirements.
Twitter may also remove the checkmark from accounts that are found to be in violation of the Twitter Rules.
You may not purchase Twitter Blue if you are a person with whom Twitter is not permitted to have dealings under US and any other applicable economic sanctions and trade compliance law.
Any violation of the Twitter Terms of Service or Twitter Rules, manipulation of Twitter processes, or circumvention of enforcement actions may result in the loss of the checkmark or in certain instances, suspension.
