Twitter Begins Removal of Legacy Blue Ticks Today, Verification Limited to Paid Users Only
Twitter is starting to remove legacy blue ticks from profiles today, with verification now limited to paid users only, as announced by the company and its owner Elon Musk.
Kumari Harshita 
Twitter is set to remove legacy blue verified badges from profiles that do not have a Twitter Blue subscription on April 20 (4/20), as announced by the company and its owner Elon Musk. This decision follows Musk's takeover of Twitter last year and his belief that the blue badge creates a status symbol on the platform.
Previously, Twitter used to verify accounts of public interest, such as journalists, actors, politicians, to ensure authenticity and combat impersonation. However, under Musk's leadership, Twitter has introduced the requirement of a subscription to Twitter Blue, which offers additional features such as long-form tweets and an edit/undo button, in order to retain the blue badge.
Tomorrow, 4/20, we are removing legacy verified checkmarks. To remain verified on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOXAX
— Twitter Verified (@verified) April 19, 2023
Organizations can sign up for Verified Organizations here: https://t.co/YtPVNYypHU
Twitter has also laid down certain rules for accounts to be eligible for verification, such as being active in the past 30 days, not exhibiting misleading or deceptive behavior, and having a verified mobile number. However, some users have raised concerns that these measures may not be foolproof, as there are accounts that exhibit spam-like behavior but are managed by humans.
In the past, users with the legacy blue badge were followed by Twitter's Verified profile, which suggested that the platform had over 4 lakh verified profiles. However, recently, Twitter unfollowed all users with the legacy blue badge, indicating the upcoming removal of the badges for non-subscribers.
Elon Musk, while announcing Twitter's decision to remove the legacy blue badges, invoked the 4/20 joke, which is colloquially associated with marijuana smokers. Musk has previously joked about this number after his photo of smoking marijuana on the Joe Rogan podcast went viral. Coincidentally, he had announced his plans to buy Twitter around the same time last year, which later became a reality.
To retain the blue badge on Twitter, users with the legacy badge will need to purchase a subscription to Twitter Blue or risk losing the verification status. This move by Twitter is seen as an attempt to boost its revenue and monetize the platform, as Musk has criticized the previous management for running Twitter like a non-profit organization. It remains to be seen how this decision will be received by the Twitter community and its impact on the verification process on the platform.
