Big changes may be coming to Twitter’s user verification model. According to a report by The Verge, the social media platform may begin charging $20 for a blue check mark.
The Verge claims that “people familiar with the matter” and “internal correspondence” indicated that the platform’s new owner, Elon Musk, tasked coders with launching the new feature by November 7th. Platformer reports that currently verified accounts will need to subscribe to Twitter’s premium subscription service, Twitter Blue, to retain their badges. It isn’t immediately clear if verification will be open to anyone who wants a blue checkmark, or even if the new paid checkmarks will be blue.
Neither The Verge nor Platformer named their sources or quoted the cited correspondence. So, you should take this news with a grain of salt. However, Musk himself indicated that the platform’s verification process is currently undergoing an overhaul. (And earlier this year, Musk proposed tying verification to a Twitter Blue subscription.)
The whole verification process is being revamped right now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 30, 2022
Last Wednesday, Musk demonstrated that his acquisition of Twitter was complete by carrying a sink into the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Two days later, he fired top company executives. Since then, various outlets have circulated later debunked rumors about his intentions for the company and its employees.
If you’ve been wanting to be verified but didn’t have the clout to get the attention of Twitter’s verification team, now may be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. We’ll find out if this particular rumor is true next Monday.
Sources: The Verge, Platformer
