Twitter starts pulling legacy blue verification checkmarks<p>Twitter has talked about <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/twitter-says-its-killing-legacy-verified-checkmarks-starting-on-april-1st-035927238.html">pulling legacy verified checkmarks[/url] for a while, and now it's acting on that plan. The social network has begun removing the original blue ticks from users' profiles — formerly verified staff at Engadget can confirm this. From now on, you'll need to pay $8 per month for Blue to get that symbol back. Businesses can receive a gold checkmark without a subscription, while government and multilateral organization accounts get a gray checkmark.</p><p>The company introduced verification in 2009 to reduce the potential for impersonation, and focused on well-established (though not necessarily famous) people in areas like politics, entertainment and the media. When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, however, he <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1590757322149998592">claimed[/url] there were too many "corrupt" verified accounts and that it was necessary to drop the legacy system. He characterized Blue as a way to democratize checkmarks.</p><span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>That's not how it panned out. Twitter had to <a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/twitter-blue-monday-11-per-month-ios-221436172.html">pause and relaunch[/url] Blue after trolls <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/twitter-blue-verification-impersonation-disaster-203656712.html">abused the feature[/url] to impersonate notable figures, including Musk. The firm instituted a review process and barred sign-ups from accounts that had been around for less than 90 days. Gold and gray checkmarks restored some of those anti-impersonation measures, but many celebrities, journalists and similar personalities no longer have those protections.</p><p>Twitter has had other problems with user labels, too. Multiple major media organizations, <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/npr-is-ditching-twitter-over-government-funded-media-label-on-its-main-account-155556726.html">including NPR[/url] and <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/pbs-has-also-quit-twitter-over-its-government-funded-media-label-164843803.html">PBS[/url], have left Twitter over objections to the social site's "government-funded media" designation. These outlets say the label falsely implies government influence over their content when they maintain strict editorial independence. The death of legacy checkmarks just underscores this conflict — critics are concerned that Twitter is eroding trust in its quest to earn more revenue from subscriptions.</p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/twitter-starts-pulling-legacy-blue-verification-checkmarks-205010576.html?src=rssSource:
Twitter starts pulling legacy blue verification checkmarks
