Twitter retires the old blue badges, once pledges of notoriety and authenticity

What do the Pope, Donald Trump and Beyoncé have in common? They all three lost, Thursday, April 20, their blue tick on Twitter, once a guarantee of credibility. The platform has therefore finally carried out Elon Musk’s threat and removed the badge from those who refuse to pay.

The pellet has thus disappeared from the accounts of personalities such as Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bill Gates or Lady Gaga, as well as those of many journalists, professors and activists. Even @jack, the account of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has been stripped.

On the political side, many elected officials have also lost it, but some have obtained the gray check mark, reserved for government accounts or certain organizations. This is the case of Kevin McCarthy, the boss of the Republican deputies.

A paid subscription

The blue badge now signals users who pay eight dollars a month to have this distinction and other advantages (more visibility, technical privileges, fewer advertisements), such as Donald Trump Junior or the Dalai Lama.

“Twitter verified”, the paid subscription account for “Twitter Blue”, warned on Wednesday that the social network would withdraw the next day the blue badges obtained before Elon Musk bought the company at the end of October and imposed his vision. contrary to the previous philosophy. “To stay authenticated on Twitter, individuals can subscribe to Twitter Blue here”had specified the official account.