Twitter aims to start selling blue verification badges for user profiles as soon as next week.
Twitter Inc. aims to start selling blue verification badges for user profiles as soon as next week, part of the new owner’s plan Elon Musk to fight fake accounts and choke off revenue from the company he bought for $44 billion.
The badges will be part of an $8-a-month subscription that could go live as early as Monday, according to people familiar with the plans. Users who already have a blue verification badge will have a multi-month grace period before they need to pay for the badge or lose it, one of the people who requested anonymity discussed the unfair plans. declare said.
The company also plans to expand access to its editing functionality. The editing feature, now available to users is called Twitter Blue Who pay $4.99 a month, will be open to the rest of the users for free, one of the people said. The person said that change could be made as soon as this week.
Billionaire Musk and a close group of advisers are looking at a series of changes to the way Twitter operates and creates moneyand it’s possible that the timing for the edit button subscriptions and rollout could change, the people said. A Twitter representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The verification fee plan has polarized users, with some now having a white check mark inside a light blue field saying they won’t pay to keep it. Some have publicly tweeted in support of the new business model, concurring with Musk that it will help weed out “bots” or spam accounts. In the past, Twitter has used blue verification badges to identify prominent users at risk of impersonation – people like journalists, politicians and activists – and has never charged for it. armorial. Musk calls the current setup a “lord and farmer system,” adding that users who pay $8 a month will also get other perks like “half the amount of ads” and “advantages.” first in responses, mentions and searches”.
The rapid change of new products reflects the speed at which Musk wants to move. One of the company’s product leaders in charge of Twitter Blue, Esther Crawford, tweeted Wednesday that she’s been sleeping at the office in an effort to meet her deadline.
Critics say that prioritizing verified users will mean non-paying users will have their posts reduced or muted. “Lmao at a billionaire earnestly tries to sell people to the idea that ‘free speech’ is really an $8/month subscription plan,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat. are from New York.
“Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8,” Musk replied.
One person said Twitter will allow government accounts to always be verified, as well as those in areas where Twitter can’t charge a fee. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday said the president and his administration have not yet considered whether to pay to maintain verification.
