Twitter purge elicits panic among users

Twitter has started a purge of its blue verification check marks for users who have not signed up for its subscription service.

The move witnessed the blue marks disappearing from the accounts of journalists, academics and celebrities raising fears among users that Elon Musk may be making a wrong business move.

Musk, who earlier said he had bought a ‘non profit’ and went ahead to cut 75 per cent of Twitter’s workforce now wants companies and people to pay for the blue tick verification mark. In order to stay verified, Musk said, users would have to pay $8 per month (Sh1,083) to join the platform’s Twitter Blue subscription service, which has allowed accounts to pay for verification since December.

“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk tweeted.

The change has stripped the blue tick from about 400,000 legacy verified accounts, according to the Guardian publication.

Influence or presence

In contrast to the former system, where blue ticks informed users that the accounts were who they claimed to be, sustaining influence or presence on the site will suddenly be expensive. Users will still be able to view unverified profiles that they follow on the platform’s standard For You feed, according to Musk, who has stated this.

Imposter accounts plagued a previous Twitter Blue push, therefore some measures against them have been included, such as preventing new accounts from the site for 30 days. The network is “working on an updated process for new Twitter accounts to help minimise impersonation risks and may impose and change waiting periods for new accounts,” said Twitter Blue website page.