Many popular but unpaid accounts have their check marks restored against their will — or even despite their deaths
What do Twitter’s blue check marks signify? After this weekend, it’s increasingly difficult to figure out.
On Thursday, Elon Musk’s Twitter finally followed through on its plan to remove blue verification check marks from accounts that were not paying $8 a month for the Twitter Blue subscription service, which Musk is counting on to become a key revenue source.
The vast majority of verified accounts did not pay up — including such politicians as President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, celebrities, sports figures, and journalists — and had their check marks revoked. But on Saturday a number of prominent Twitter users suddenly found their verification badges restored — even though many stressed that they were not paying for the subscription service. In some cases the newly restored badges appeared almost to punish or embarrass those who have been Twitter Blue’s most outspoken critics.
“This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number,” a message on the affected accounts said, though many of those affected said neither was true.
There was widespread speculation that all accounts with more then 1 million followers had their check marks restored — whether they wanted them or not. And many were vocal that they did not.