Back in October '22, Musk finalized his $44 billion takeover of the behemoth company, heralding a new dawn for Twitter employees and some worrying revelations about certain parts of the US Government.
But on March 23, they announced that they will now remove the fabled blue checkmark. This means anyone with a checkmark will be advertising to the world that they pay for their status. “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks,” they tweeted. “To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOpLp.”
I have suspicions that Elon Musk had this plan all along. As one can imagine, the Twittersphere had a few opinions on the matter. Elon Musk did warn them this was coming back near the takeover, though this didn't stop some serious dissent — and some light trolling.
Here is what people are saying about losing their blue checkmark.
Persona Non-Grata
Firstly, lots of users are unimpressed with Musk's treatment of the app in general:
Elon's inability to make a single good change to this app needs to be studied
— D3NNI (@D3NNI_yt) March 23, 2023
Such a sentiment is echoed through the thread. I am not sure why people have such beef with the app. I honestly don't see the problem if you are a business, unlike this lady:
man truly thought the Hindenburg was an inspirational fireworks display
— ange thompson (@AngeMaryClaire) March 23, 2023
A Forgotten Victory
However, we must spare a thought for those who fought to get their checkmark, like this poor guy, who feels his achievements are now devalued.
It was a huge goal of mine to get verified and when it finally happened — I was at work. I came home to this little surprise from my wife and daughter.
— Dex (@DEXB0T) March 23, 2023
I’m sure you won’t care, but so many of these changes that seem unnecessary kinda ruin the vibe pic.twitter.com/Uyj693gWAL
It Makes No Sense
Some users don't see the point in doing this, especially as it can obscure who is credible or who is just pretending to be. This guy is talking sense, though I think this was the whole purpose of the paywall.
I bought twitter blue for the features, it’s nice.
— Sam Mathews (@sammathews) March 23, 2023
But removing verification from the people who are notable for some reason makes no sense, I use it a lot when there’s a lot of noise to get for example commmentators or other players or other team owners opinion. Now there’s no…
Others agree, like this gentleman who gives a forecast of what to expect:
Here's how this will shake out. Actual notable people won't be taken seriously because folks will think they're a troll account with twitter blue. Some notable will not pay for the check and people will think that's a fake account too. Brilliant work all around.
— Kallao (@stephenkallao) March 23, 2023
It Makes Perfect Sense
However, not everyone is against Elon's maneuver. This user applauds the move; he's had enough of not knowing who is pretending to be legit and who isn't.
Thank you for doing this. I’m not even being sarcastic. Some users on Twitter were starting to confuse me for the type of person who’d pay $8 a month to feel special. It was embarrassing.
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) March 24, 2023
While others just don't care. Only the weak would pay to be verified, according to this account.
He’s welcome to take it, Stephen. Paid verified are meaningless. Only dumb morons are paying him bc he needs money and the fools are falling for it.
— Jenny Q Ta (@JQT_web3vc) March 23, 2023
April's Fools?
Curiously, a cohort of suspicious April Foolers thinks this is all a ruse – one week before April Fools Day!
If this is April fools I’ll eat a raw egg
— Sam Mathews (@sammathews) March 23, 2023
The April Fools' suspicions are rife. Then again, we are talking about the Troll-in-Chief, Elon Musk. He wouldn't, would he? It is hard to pin down such an unpredictable character.
It’s a joke guys, obviously April 1st is April fools. He wouldn’t do that.
— Kyle Harris (@hikyleharris) March 24, 2023
Time will tell. Though, I have my suspicions Mr. Musk is secretly chuckling somewhere. Let that sink in.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.