Twitter has announced a subscription service for $ 7.99 a month that includes a blue check now given only to verified accounts as new owner Elon Musk works to overhaul the platform’s verification system just ahead of the US midterm elections.
In an update to Apple iOS devices available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, Twitter said users who “sign up now” for the new “Twitter Blue with verification” can receive the blue check next to their names “just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow”.
But Twitter employee Esther Crawford tweeted Saturday that the “new Blue isn’t live yet — the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time.” Verified accounts did not appear to be losing their checks so far.
It was not immediately clear when the subscription would go live. Crawford told The Associated Press in a Twitter message that it is coming “soon but it hasn’t launched yet.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Anyone being able to get the blue check could lead to confusion and the rise of disinformation ahead of Tuesday’s elections, but Musk tweeted Saturday in response to a question about the risk of impostors impersonating verified profiles — such as politicians and election officials — that “Twitter will suspend the account attempting impersonation and keep the money!”
“So if scammers want to do this a million times, that’s just a whole bunch of free money,” he said.
India date
Twitter’s chargeable blue tick verification service is expected to roll out in India in “less than a month”, Musk has said.
Earlier this month, Musk had announced that the verification blue tick in front of a user’s name that authenticates an account will be charged $8 per month. Twitter’s strategy to introduce a monthly charge for the verified badge has polarised users globally.
“Hopefully, less than a month,” Musk tweeted in response to a Twitter user’s query.
There is no official word on India pricing just yet.