Since Elon Musk rolled out the ability for any Twitter user to pay $8 to receive a verified badge, the blue checkmark that comes with a Twitter Blue subscription has become a mark of shame in the eyes of many.
Twitter Blue subscribers have been trolled since the subscription plan’s launch, with memes like the popular “
It’s gotten so bad for the Twitter users paying $8 per month that the company is looking into maybe allowing Blue subscribers to completely hide the badge.
According to a
For some, the decision to roll out such an option might seem confusing. However, unlike much of what Twitter has done since Musk’s takeover, it actually makes a bit of sense. And even more so in the context of a recent announcement from the company.
On Thursday, after Twitter announced that Twitter Blue was officially available for users located anywhere in the world, Musk followed up with another piece of news: Legacy verified users on Twitter – the celebrities, artists, and journalists who were deemed “notable” users and had their identification verified by the previous Twitter regime for free –
When Musk’s verification plan started rolling out, the main selling point of Twitter Blue seemed to be the verified badge, which allows paid users to digitally rub elbows with the legacy verified users. The paid Blue checkmark and the legacy checkmark are indistinguishable, unless a user tapped on the badge, which would then open a pop-up that denoted what type of verified account it was.
With mostly just Twitter Blue subscribers left with a checkmark (along with
So, if you are set on removing the legacy verified badges, as Musk apparently is, the next best thing if you still want people to subscribe to Twitter Blue is to let them hide the badge so they’re not paying to be bullied on the platform.
Musk rolled out Twitter Blue fairly quickly after he officially acquired the company last year. Twitter
It’s unclear if the removal of legacy verification badges will give Twitter Blue a bump in subscribers, although based on the
One thing that does seem for sure though: Use of the “