2.5 C
Washington

Despite complaints, Elon Musk plans to start charging Twitter users $8 monthly for verification check marks as soon as Monday

Date:

Share:



Twitter aims to start selling blue verification badges for user profiles as soon as next week, part of a plan by new owner Elon Musk to fight fake accounts and squeeze revenue from the company he bought for $44 billion.

The badges will be part of an $8-a-month subscription that could go live as early as Monday, according to people familiar with the plans. Users who already have a blue verification badge will have a multi-month grace period before they will either need to pay for the badge or lose it, said one of the people, who requested anonymity discussing plans that aren’t public.

The company also plans to expand access to its edit function. The edit feature, currently available to so-called Twitter Blue users who pay $4.99 a month, will be opened to the rest of users for free, one of the people said. That change could be implemented as soon as this week, the person said.

Billionaire Musk and a close cadre of advisers are considering a host of changes to the way Twitter is run and makes money, and it’s possible that the timing for the subscriptions and edit-button rollout could change, the people said. A Twitter representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plan to charge for verification has polarized users, with some people who currently have the white check mark inside a light blue field saying they won’t pay to keep it. Some have publicly tweeted in favor of the new business model, concurring with Musk that it will help weed out “bots” or spam accounts. Twitter has historically used blue verification badges to identify high-profile users who may be at risk of impersonation — people like journalists, politicians and activists — and has never charged for the badge. Musk called the current setup a “lords and peasants system,” adding that users who pay $8 a month will also get other perks like “half as many ads” and “priority in replies, mentions & search.”

The quick turnaround for the new products reflects the speed at which Musk wants to move. One of the company’s product leaders in charge of Twitter Blue, Esther Crawford, tweeted on Wednesday that she slept at the office in an effort to meet her deadlines.

Critics say that giving verified users priority will mean that users who don’t pay will have their posts diminished or silenced. “Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan,” tweeted Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York.

“Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8,” Musk replied. 

Twitter will allow government accounts to stay verified, as well as those in regions where Twitter cannot charge payment, one person said. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier Wednesday that the president and his administration had not yet considered whether it would pay to retain verification. 

Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.





Source link

Subscribe to our magazine

━ more like this

How I Used Self-Help to Justify a Toxic Relationship and What I Now Know – Tiny Buddha

“You can ignore reality, but you can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” ~Ayn Rand The first person who introduced me to personal development...

Larry Summers, a ‘friend of China,’ warns Beijing that its actions are making it hard for people like him to push for stronger ties

This bipartisan sentiment makes it challenging for those trying to argue for a more cautious, less aggressive approach to the world’s second-largest economy,...

Developers at Elon Musk’s X test NSFW content and communities features

X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, is testing a feature that lets users create or join communities focused on “adult content”...

Want to raise confident, happy kids? Do these 4 things, a parenting expert says

Confidence and self-esteem may be among the most admirable qualities someone can hold. But if we aren’t taught how to be confident in...

Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura joins forces with bakery to launch his own brand of THC edibles

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has announced he is entering the cannabis market as a seller, as the state still figures out retail sales of...