Ticked Off: The big names not paying for Twitter's blue tick

Celebrities, public figures, and well-known businesses have long relied on Twitter’s blue tick to confirm that their accounts are credible. Nevertheless, as the microblogging site transitions to a subscription-based verification system, Twitter says it will remove its blue checkmark verification badges from accounts. According to Elon Musk , it will only be a luxury for those who are willing to pay for it. Several well-known American news organisations have already lost their blue checkmark. They have made the conscious decision to forgo paying for the subscription. The White House, and news publishers like The New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have already announced that they won’t be paying for the blue tick. Let’s take a look at celebrities and companies who have refused to pay for Twitter Blue verification and why. The White House According to Axios, the White House has also declined to pay for Twitter Blue verification . The White House Director of Digital Strategy, Rob Flaherty, reportedly told staff members, “It is our understanding that Twitter Blue does not provide person-level verification as a service. Thus, a blue check mark will now simply serve as a verification that the account is a paid user.” “Twitter’s enterprise service, Verification for Organization, does appear to provide organization-association verification. There are ongoing trials for the program that we are monitoring, but we will not enrol in it. Staff may purchase Twitter Blue on their personal social media accounts using personal funds,” Flaherty wrote in the email. The New York Times According to Economic Times, The New York Times was the first big news organisation to declare that it would no longer be paying a monthly charge to have its verification badge. “We aren’t planning to pay the monthly fee for checkmark status for our institutional Twitter accounts. We also will not reimburse reporters for Twitter Blue for personal accounts, except in rare instances where this status would be essential for reporting purposes,” a New York Times spokesperson said. Los Angeles Times The Los Angeles Times would not be purchasing a Twitter Blue subscription, as per Gadgets Now. In a staff internal memo, managing editor of the Los Angeles Times Sara Yasin stated that being verified “no longer establishes authority or credibility” and that Twitter was “not as reliable as it once was.” Yasin said in the memo, ”We will not be paying to verify our organisation on Twitter either. It’s still unclear if there’s actual value in doing so, beyond identifying all of us as LA Times staffers.” Washington Post Because “it’s evident that verified checkmarks no longer indicate authority and expertise,” The Washington Post allegedly stated that it “will not pay for Twitter Blue service as an institution or on behalf of our journalists.,” according to Gadgets Now. Other companies like BuzzFeed, Politico and Vox also confirmed that they will not offer to pay for their staff’s Twitter blue verifications, according to Business Insider. LeBron James Le Bron Raymone James Sr., an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), scored a “slam dunk” on the notion of purchasing Blue tick. “Welp guess my blue (tick) will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5,” he tweeted. However, at the time of writing, his Blue tick remains on his handle.

Chrissy Teigen Chrissy Teigen has recently declined to pay $ 8 a month for Twitter’s blue check verification badge. John Legend’s wife took to Twitter and tweeted, “oh my god just take the checkmark already who cares.”

William Shatner The 92-year-old Canadian actor whose career spans about seven decades has stated that he will not be footing the bill for the blue tick. “Hey @elonmusk what’s this about blue checks going away unless we pay Twitter? I’ve been here for 15 years giving my (time) & witty thoughts all for bupkis. Now you’re telling me that I have to pay for something you gave me for free? What is this-the Columbia Records & Tape Club?” he said. Shatner also said that blue ticks were “guardrails for legitimacy; not meaningless status symbols.”

Monica Lewinsky A screenshot of what activist lawyer Monica Lewinsky claims to be impersonators with a blue tick has been released online. “In what universe is this fair to the impersonators who risk negative repercussions? Before the truth even leaves the door, a lie has travelled halfway around the globe “In a subsequent tweet, she stated.

Other notable personalities like “Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander, footballer Michael Thomas, Kansas City Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes, actor and comedian Ben Stiller, and music legend Dionne Warwick, among others, have also confirmed they won’t pay for the verified mark.

  Why organisations don’t want to pay Elon Musk? Many organisations and individuals are concerned about Twitter’s intention to phase out its legacy verification programme. According to Business Today, the direct cause might be the increased prices, but it isn’t the main objection these organisations have to pay. The decision has sparked questions about the blue checkmark’s function in establishing news organisations’ legitimacy. The brand-new “Verified for Organizations” initiative on Twitter is now accessible worldwide. Several firms are rethinking the value of the blue checkmark in establishing trust in light of Twitter’s decision to phase down its historical verification scheme and launch a premium option. When more businesses choose not to pay for the service, the verified checkmark may begin to lose some of its significance as a seal of approval.

What does the new policy for verified check marks say? Twitter CEO Elon Musk said that Twitter will start removing old verified checkmarks starting on 1 April. Users of verified accounts have been warned by the company that they must purchase their blue check marks through Twitter Blue, a new $8 per month (~Rs 657) membership service that allows anyone to be verified with a blue check mark. Businesses that want to pay for enterprise-level verification on behalf of their official accounts and some employees may do so. These businesses will be assessed a monthly fee of $1,000 (~Rs 82,163) and will be identified with a gold check mark. Twitter’s blue bird logo replaced with ‘Doge’ meme According to ANI, Musk changed the iconic blue bird logo – which has served as a home button on the web version, with the “doge” meme of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency. He also shared a hilarious post on his account wherein the ‘doge’ meme (which features the face of a Shiba Inu) in the car and telling the police officer, who seems to be seeing his driving license, that his photo has been changed. Twitter’s CEO also shared the screenshot of the 26 March 2022, conversation between him and the anonymous account where the latter was asking to change the bird logo to “doge.” Sharing this post on Twitter, Musk wrote, “As promised.” Users noticed the ‘doge’ meme, which was created as a joke in 2013, on the web version of Twitter on Monday. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .