Twitter removes the blue stamp from accounts that have not paid the required amount for its maintenance. We will not find it on the profiles of such famous people as Beyonce, Kim Kardashian or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Twitter began on Thursday the process of removing blue stamps from the accounts of users who did not decide to pay the required amount for a Twitter Blue subscription, which gives, among other things, the ability to confirm the authenticity of the profile. The accounts of many celebrities have become at first glance indistinguishable from, for example, fake accounts impersonating these people. Celebrities who have lost their stamp include: Kim KardashianBill Gates, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Robert Lewandowski or Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the marking removal process is not entirely successful. Website users report that the stamps disappear and reappear after refreshing the page.
Disappearing blue Twitter verification badge
Some of the famous people who lost their blue stamps approached it with distance and humor. “I’ve lost my blue stamp, but I still feel like myself,” joked famous comedian Ben Stiller on Twitter.
As CNN notes, within hours of Hillary Clinton’s account being unverified, another account impersonating her – with the same profile picture – “announced” that she would run for president again. So how do you know now that the account is real? The indication may be the number of people following a given profile.
“The fact that we are discussing blue stamps at all is a sad moment for our society,” concludes the recent changes, also on this platform, musician Ice-T.
While some stamps disappear, others still have them. One of the most widely read writers in the world, Stephen King, who previously strongly criticized the changes on Twitter and publicly announced that he would not pay for the blue badge, now still uses it, which he informed fans. “My Twitter account says I’m subscribed to Twitter Blue. I don’t. My Twitter account says I gave my phone number. I didn’t,” King tweeted. The owner of the platform, Elon Musk, replied to the writer himself – “You’re welcome, I bow.”
New Twitter blue stamp rules
Twitter’s account verification system has existed since 2009, it was introduced to prevent fraudsters from impersonating the accounts of famous people, including politicians. A blue stamp next to the name meant that the profile was genuine. At the end of last year, Elon Musk, who had recently taken over Twitter, changed the rules for granting it. Verification is not required, to receive it, you need to purchase a Twitter Blue subscription, which in Poland costs PLN 36 per month.
Currently, Twitter accounts can be stamped in three colors. The gold mark next to the profile name tells us that we are dealing with an official account of a company or organization, the gray mark is used to mark a government institution or public official. However, the blue “tick”, as before, is reserved for private persons.
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