Elon Musk, the new owner of social media giant Twitter, has announced that he is killing Twitter’s “Official” badge hours after the company decided to launch the same. Under Musk’s ownership, the company has been going through a number of changes, and the tech tycoon has recently tweeted, “Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.”
Musk first announced that he is discontinuing the Official badge on a post by technology-focused YouTuber, Marques Brownlee. Check it out right here:
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO went on to add in a subsequent reply to Brownlee’s tweet that “Blue check will be the great leveler”.
Also Read| Meta layoffs: A look at how 11,000 fired employees will be compensated
Earlier, Esther Crawford, the social media giant’s early-stage production executive, announced, “Not all previously verified accounts will get the “Official” label and the label is not available for purchase. Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures”.
Musk has been pushing for the subscription-based blue checks, which will be a premium version of Twitter called Twitter Blue, since he took over the social media behemoth. He wanted to introduce a $20 per month subscription plan, which was met with disdain by a large section of Twitter users.
Since then, Musk has reduced the amount to $8 per month, and has stuck to his guns despite continued criticism. He also tweeted out, “Trash me all day, but it’ll cost $8”.
US President Joe Biden was also asked about his opinions on Musk’s Twitter acquisition and how it may affect world affairs during his post-midterm press meet. The 79-year-old paused for a while and chose his words carefully, finally saying that Musk’s recent dealings are “worth being looked at”.
