Figures like the Pope, Trump or Beyoncé lost the ‘blue seal’ on Twitter on Thursday, after the social network led by Elon Musk fulfilled its promise and withdrew the badge from those who refused to pay.
The social network underwent a change this Thursday, with accounts losing that hallmark obtained in the past, after verification of the user’s identity and subject to certain conditions, including notoriety.
The ‘seal’ has disappeared from countless personalities such as Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bill Gates or Lady Gaga, as well as from many journalists, teachers or activists.
Even ‘@jack’, the account of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, saw the ‘blue seal’ removed.
In the political sector, many rulers also lost it, while others obtained a ‘grey seal’, reserved for government accounts or those of certain organizations.
The ‘blue seal’ now points to users who pay eight dollars (about 7.29 euros) a month to have that distinction and other benefits of ‘Twitter Blue’ (more visibility, technical privileges or fewer ads).
Among these are Donald Trump Junior or the Dalai Lama.
“I know they are going to judge me because I have the blue seal, but what a shame, I need the button to edit my tweets,” said Marques Brownlee, content creator followed by six million users, on this social network.
Many other figures expressed their perplexity, such as the author best seller Stephen King, followed by seven million people.
“My twitter account says I subscribed to Twitter Blue. This is incorrect. My twitter account says I gave a phone number [para autenticação]. This is wrong, ”said the writer on the platform this Thursday.
Stephen King had already expressed his outrage in November, stressing that it should be the social network that pays for the writer cheep.
The date was not chosen at random: April 20, pronounced 4/20 in English, is a reference to the drug cannabis in the United States. The also owner of Tesla and SpaceX loves jokes on this subject, to the point of having bought the platform at $54.20 (the equivalent of 49.47 euros) per share.
Elon Musk had to try several times to launch Twitter Blue, a decision that generated and is generating criticism.
According to the billionaire, the subscription should also make it possible to combat fake profiles and automated accounts and diversify income, at a time when many brands have fled the platform.
Between November and January, half of Twitter’s top 30 advertisers stopped buying ad space on the social network, according to the Pathmatics platform.
Brands are reluctant to invest in a platform “where chaos, arbitrary change and uncertainty reign,” Insider Intelligence’s Jasmine Enberg explained last week.
“The ‘blue seal’ is no longer a guarantee of credibility,” since anyone can pay to have it, he recalled.
Source: TSF
