Last month, Twitter said that it would be removing legacy blue check marks from accounts on 1 April. That didn’t happen, and instead the bird platform removed the distinction between accounts that were verified and those who paid the subscription fee. Now, the company is claiming that today, 20 April, will be the day that it finally happens.
Or at least, that’s what the official Twitter Verified account said in a tweet. That hasn’t happened yet at the time of writing. But it remains to be seen if this is simply because of timezone differences, or if the company has not yet figured a way to do it. Even if it does happen, it is unclear for now if the company will wipe all of them off at the same time or if it will be a more gradual process.
Update: It has finally happened, though quite a considerable while after publication, lending credence to the timezone argument.
Tomorrow, 4/20, we are removing legacy verified checkmarks. To remain verified on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOXAX
Organizations can sign up for Verified Organizations here: https://t.co/YtPVNYypHU
— Verified (@verified) April 19, 2023
Ever since Twitter made it possible to pay a subscription fee for the blue check mark, it has basically stopped providing the function that it used to have when it was first introduced. On one hand, this led to quite the wave of impersonators causing all sorts of problems, with one of the impersonation targets being our own prime minister. This became a big enough issue that the company had to pause the rollout of its subscription program. On the other, the average subscribers have been made targets of mockery, so much so that the bird app may be working to allow subscribers to hide their check marks.
It’s worth reiterating that there are other check marks beyond the blue variety. There’s the gold one, which Twitter is charging pretty exorbitant amounts to businesses. And then there’s the grey ones, the only one remaining that actually means anything, since this is reserved for government bodies and officials, though this also doesn’t come without a price.
(Source: Twitter)
