The new owner of the social platform Twitter, Elon Musk, proposed offering users a new subscription service for their accounts to be “verified.” The initial proposed amount was a monthly fee of $19.99. But after receiving much criticism for the charged amount, Musk updated the proposal to $8.00 per month.
The Twitter team is working to update its existing subscription product known as “Twitter Blue,” which currently costs $4.99 per month, to include a verification feature. According to internal planning documents obtained by CNN, Twitter also threatens to remove the coveted blue checkmarks from verified users if they do not start paying the higher price for the subscription product within 90 days.
It is possible that the plan and prices may change, as the new billionaire owner of Twitter works to establish his brand on one of the most important social media platforms in the world. It is also unclear if some verified users may be exempt from paying the fee; many international organizations and charities, for example, are verified on Twitter.
Although the blue checkmark has emerged as a status symbol for users, it was also designed to ensure that users can determine which accounts are authentic and which are not, especially for celebrities, brands, and other influential accounts. But if Musk creates a financial barrier for verification, it will become harder to distinguish whether a notable name is fake or not.
Source: CNN