Twitter's Blue Tick Saga: Celebrities Regain Verification Badges Amid Confusion

After withdrawing blue ticks for non-subscribers of Twitter Blue, Elon Musk's company is now restoring verification badges for many non-paying celebrities.

Last week, Twitter began removing blue ticks from all accounts, regardless of their popularity, if they weren't paying for the paid Twitter Blue service. This included many big names from India like actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Congress politician Rahul Gandhi, along with cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

Now, in a surprising turn of events, blue ticks are back on these celebrities' accounts. When you can click on the blue tick, it states that the "account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number."

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What's happening with blue ticks?

However, this might not be true, at least according to many public figures who got their blue ticks back without paying for them. For instance, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter - "Apparently I've paid for Twitter Blue & given them a phone number to verify except that I haven't. Mr Musk are you paying for mine as well?"

Apparently I¡¯ve paid for Twitter Blue & given them a phone number to verify except that I haven¡¯t. Mr Musk are you paying for mine as well? ?

¡ª Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 23, 2023

He was referring to Musk paying for Twitter Blue subscriptions of American author Stephen King, basketball player LeBron James, and actor William Shatner.

You¡¯re welcome namaste ?

¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023

Reuters

Also read: Elon Musk Announces Content Subscriptions Feature For Twitter: All You Need To Know

Many other public figures who got their blue ticks back include Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. "I don't know what happened but I'm happy to have my blue tick back so everyone knows I am still Malala," she tweeted.

I don¡¯t know what happened but I¡¯m happy to have my blue tick back so everyone knows I am still Malala ?

¡ª Malala Yousafzai (@Malala) April 22, 2023

While it's unclear what's going on, Twitter seems to be reinstating the verified badge of accounts with high follower counts. In addition to these figures, Twitter has also restored the blue ticks of late people figures like Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, and Michal Jackson.

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Also read: Unaware Why Twitter Removed Tweets On BBC Documentary Critical Of Modi: Elon Musk

Twitter Blue costs ?900 per month on smartphones (Android or iOS) and the web-only version costs ?650 per month or ?6,800 per year.

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