Today’s the day. The Twitter verification checkmark apocalypse is upon us.
Leading up to today, Twitter has made multiple pleas and what sometimes sounded like threats to users that, if they did not start paying for Twitter Blue, they would lose their verification checkmark. Twitter Blue, which costs at least $7.99 per month, would be the sole way to get the checkmark and remain verified on the social media platform.
Users had until April 20th to sign up for Twitter Blue. Well, that day is here, and as the company promised, Twitter has started to remove the verification checkmark from everyone who didn’t choose to start paying for Twitter Blue.
So far, the reaction is pretty mixed. While some are complaining — pointing out that verification should not be something that users pay for — others are celebrating, saying that it is like going back in time to the world of the internet and social media before verification existed.
While most users are seeing their verification checkmark disappear today, it appears that some users still have it despite saying they would not pay for it. One example is Lebron James, who famously said he wasn’t paying the money for Twitter Blue. Despite his account now saying he is, The Verge “contacted James’ media advisor, Adam Mendelsohn, who confirmed that James hasn’t paid the $8 monthly fee.”
Stephen King, who has also gotten in spats with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, says that his account also shows that he is paying for Twitter Blue. The author, however, says that he isn’t:
It’s unclear if there are still carveouts for some users on Twitter, if Musk is just trolling them, or if they are lying and actually paying for Blue. However, it is making quite the rounds on Twitter — a truly odd day for the internet.
UPDATE: Musk confirmed that he is personally paying for some Twitter Blue subscriptions:
The checkmark apocalypse comes a day after Elon Musk claimed that Microsoft illegally trained its AI using Twitter data and threatened the technology giant with a lawsuit.
