With Twitter’s legacy blue checks gone, here’s how to see if celebrities and other users are real
Twitter began removing the legacy blue checkmarks from individual accounts that were not paying the US$8 a month fee on Thursday, leading to confusion over which accounts were real.
Twitter removed the blue checkmarks for almost all users who had been verified under the previous system. The previous system had been used under the former administration to verify journalists, celebrities and politicians who had proved their identity to Twitter. The company’s owner, Elon Musk, however personally paid subscription costs for several high-profile celebrities.
People from the pope, Bill Gates and the Rock, to former US president Donald Trump, had their blue check removed at the time of reporting, but the accounts belonging to celebrities including Beyoncé, Tom Brady, Taylor Swift, LeBron James, Stephen King and Ice-T, retained the tick.
When James and King later said they weren’t paying for a subscription, Musk revealed he was paying for a few himself, but later clarified it was just James, King and the Star Trek star William Shatner. Shatner had previously complained about the change to Musk on Twitter.
Here’s what we know about navigating the new system.
The blue check verified badge doesn’t mean that person is who they say they are any more. It now just means they pay for a subscription and they’ve used a phone number.
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Twitter has said that it will only put badges on accounts with a display name and profile photo, that have been active in the past 30 days and must be older than 30 days. The company also says it will not put blue checkmarks on accounts that have recently changed profile photos, display names or usernames.
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