Twitter Blue is a premium subscription service offered by the social media giant, Twitter. The service offers a range of exclusive features to its subscribers, such as the ability to edit tweets and the ability to write 4000-character-long tweets in addition to a blue tick right next to the Twitter username. It comes with a monthly subscription fee of $8, with the prices being adjusted accordingly worldwide. The service is aimed at Twitter’s most dedicated users, who are willing to pay for additional functionality and a more enhanced experience on the platform. Twitter Blue is just one example of how social media platforms are exploring new revenue streams beyond traditional advertising models. Well, it seems like some organizations do not want to pay the extra monthly fee to be verified on the platform, and the popular news publication New York Times is one of them.
Recently, Twitter announced that they will start removing verification badges, starting April 1. The New York Times, along with other celebrities and organizations, has refused to pay for the subscription service. Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, took to the platform to criticize the newspaper, calling their feed “the Twitter equivalent of diarrhea.” The subscription service is generating revenue for Twitter, but some are concerned about the impact on identifying genuine accounts from impersonators.
The New York Times has also refused to pay for the verification of its journalists’ Twitter accounts, losing its verification badge as a result. While 10,000 of the most-followed organizations on Twitter will be exempt from the rules, it is unclear whether all organizations must sign up for the subscription service to remain verified. The removal of blue ticks is happening gradually and appears to be a manual process since a lot of accounts have to be checked for credibility and status. Some celebrities, such as LeBron James and Ice-T, have criticized the fee-paying system but still retain their blue ticks (for now).
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(Via)
