Elon Musk recently announced that he wants to charge for Twitter’s verification checkmark, initially saying this would cost $20 a month. He has since backtracked, offering the service for $8 a month after leftists including Stephen King melted down over the price.
Breitbart News previously reported that Elon Musk gave employees at Twitter their first assignment — introducing a $20 per month subscription fee for users to gain a blue check verification badge by November 7 or join the unemployment line. Musk wanted developers to alter Twitter Blue, the company’s $4.99 per month subscription program that unlocks certain features, into a more expensive product that includes the blue verification checkmark, which he priced at $20 a month.
The Verge now reports that Musk has dropped the price point of the subscription from $20 to just $8 a month. Musk stated that the price would be “adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity,” and that “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.”
Musk added that the subscription will come with a number of other benefits such as:
- Priority in replies, mentions, and search, which Musk argues is “essential to defeat spam/scam”
- Ability to post long video and audio
- Half as many ads
- And “paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us”
Musk’s sudden pricing change came after many expressed their disdain for the concept of paying to keep their verified checkmark, which on much platforms is meant to indicate that the person is a public figure of note and that the Twitter account belongs to them. Twitter has a long history of abusing the verification checkmark to the benefit of leftists.
Horror writer Stephen King was one of the first to melt down over the subscription model:
$20 a month to keep my blue check? Fuck that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 31, 2022
King’s tantrum caused Musk to attempt to defend the program while also caving on the price point.
We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Further details about the new verification system have yet to be made public, with all documentation relating to Twitter Blue pertaining to the old system with no mention of a verification system. But it appears employees have until November 7 to find a way to make it work.
Read more at the Verge here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
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