We’re not even a week in from Elon Musk becoming the owner (or ‘Chief Twit’ as he calls the position) of Twitter, and already his plans for overhauling the verification process sounds like a terrible idea.
According to The Verge (opens in new tab), Musk is planning to raise the monthly price of Twitter Blue, which gives you the ability to edit tweets, as well as get custom icons and exclusive features, from $4.99 / £4.99 / AU$5.99 to $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$20.99. By subscribing, Twitter Blue users will also now be verified, which gives them a blue tick next to their username – something that was once limited to verified users, such as notable public figures, politicians and members of the media.
Users who are already verified will have a 90-day window to sign up for this new plan, or they will lose their blue tick.
This could already be a fatal decision for the platform, especially when this could allow trolls with few followers to pay to get verified, making the blue tick system irrelevant.
Paying for the blue tick is just wrong
Getting verified (opens in new tab) on Twitter can be a slow, frustrating affair, in which you have to send the company multiple web links as proof that you’re a real person and deserving of the blue tick.
Some people have been denied multiple times, and it took two tries for me to get the blue tick. I still don’t know why I was denied the first time, but it’s fair to say that the process should be looked at.
However, charging $20 a month for this is not the way to go. It’s the equivalent of opening the floodgates and diminishes the point of verification – which was to help users know if an account is authentic, or of public interest. At four times the price of what a Twitter Blue subscription currently is, it’s going to be a hard sell.
Combined with the fact that Musk has allegedly told Blue’s developers that they will be fired if this feature isn’t live by November 7, we could be about to see Twitter’s dark days begin, and possibly the end of how you can freely use your account on the platform.
