Twitter Removes Blue Checkmarks From Legacy Verified Accounts Like Beyonce And Lady Gaga

(CTN News) – The purge of blue check-marks from Twitter accounts verified under Elon Musk’s previous regime has begun.

A blue check-mark badge on Twitter primarily indicates that the account belongs to someone who pays Musk, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, for the benefit.

Twitter’s decision to scrap its existing verification system, which had been in place since 2009, could create new confusion among users and erode trust in the platform.

Following its $8-per-month relaunch of Blue, the Musk-owned company noticed a spate of imposters (including someone parodying Musk’s Tesla) with blue check-marks.

According to Musk, Twitter started un-checking thousands of “legacy” verified accounts on April 20 – accounts it previously deemed “active, notable, and authentic” – unless they were Blue subscribers.

There are some of the most-followed celebrities on who have lost their legacy verification status such as Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, Bill Gates, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey, and Beyoncé.

As a result of the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Donald Trump was banned from last fall as a result of the attack. In the fall of last year, Musk reinstated him to his position.

There has been no further tweets from Trump in the interim period.

At press time, several widely followed accounts, including Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Miley Cyrus, LeBron James and Tim Cook, had verified check-marks.

These accounts are described as verified because they subscribe to Blue or are legacy verified accounts, a description the company introduced earlier this month. (James had said he didn’t plan on paying for Twitter Blue.)

There is still a blue check-mark on the Twitter account of Barack Obama with 132 million followers, with a description explaining that it is verified as an affiliate of @TheObamaOffice. In the same vein, Musk’s account says he is a member of @Twitter.

Currently, Musk has over 135 million followers and has recently surpassed Obama as the most followed user on Twitter.
When the multibillionaire closed the $44 billion deal for in November, he promised to dismantle Twitter’s legacy blue-checkmark system, calling the company’s previous verification policy “corrupt and nonsensical.”

Musk responded to William Shatner’s complaint about Twitter’s move to charge for verified status last month by saying, “There shouldn’t be a different standard for celebrities.”

Musk previously told Stephen King, “Somehow, we have to pay the bills.”

Before Musk’s change, over 420,000 accounts were verified. Twitter’s verification program was originally intended to help users verify the identity of high-profile users.

In response to the New York Times’ public statement that it would not pay for verification status, Musk stripped the verification badge from the news outlet’s primary account earlier this month.

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