Twitter is has started getting rid of legacy blue checks for those who don鈥檛 pay up, except for a few high-profile users such as LeBron James.
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For years, a blue checkmark has meant that Twitter had verified the identity of the user behind an account, and the icon was considered a status symbol.
But Mr. Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, has now charged individuals $8 per month to maintain their verification status. Mr. Musk has said those who do not pay will lose their check marks.
According to The Verge, an employee at Twitter recently emailed James to extend a complimentary subscription to Twitter Blue on behalf of Elon Musk. This move came despite James鈥� previous statement that he wouldn鈥檛 pay for verification. However, Musk said that he鈥檚 paying 鈥渁 few鈥� subscriptions personally, including for Stephen King and William Shatner.
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鈥淲e are removing legacy verified checkmarks,鈥� Twitter said in a recent statement. 鈥淭o remain verified on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue.鈥�
Paying the subscription fee will come with other perks, including more prominent placement in conversations on Twitter, higher ranking on followers鈥� pages and more discoverability.
It remains to be seen how this move will be received by the Twitter community, and whether other high-profile users will be granted similar exemptions.
