Twitter, one of the most popular micro-blogging sites, recently removed the legacy verified blue ticks from all accounts, and many Indian celebrities became collateral damage to this move, including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Salman Khan, whose film “Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan” hit theaters on April 21. This article delves into the reasons behind the removal of these blue ticks and its impact on Indian celebrities and others.
Background on Twitter’s Blue Ticks
Twitter introduced the blue tick verification in 2009 as a way to verify the authenticity of high-profile accounts. Over the years, the blue tick became a status symbol and a sign of legitimacy on the platform. However, in recent years, Twitter has been criticized for the opaque and arbitrary way it grants blue ticks to users. In response, Twitter revamped its verification system in 2021, and as part of that, it announced that it would remove the blue ticks from accounts that were verified before the new system went into effect.
Elon Musk’s Move to Remove Blue Ticks
On Thursday, April 21, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, brought forward the changes to Twitter’s blue tick verification system, and as a result, many Indian celebrities lost their verified status. Musk’s move was in response to Twitter’s new subscription service called Twitter Blue, which costs USD 8 per month on the web and USD 11 per month on iOS and Android. Only those Twitter users who have paid for Twitter Blue have individual accounts with verified blue checkmarks.
Impact on Indian Celebrities and Others
Many Indian celebrities, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Salman Khan, who have a massive following on Twitter, lost their blue tick status due to Musk’s move. Other celebrities who lost their blue ticks included Priyanka Chopra, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Kajol, and Anushka Sharma among others. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both cricket players, also lost their blue tick status.
Interestingly, American football player LeBron James, who had tweeted in March that he wouldn’t pay for Twitter Blue and would lose his blue tick, still remains verified on Twitter. It is unclear why he has not lost his blue tick status.
Twitter’s Announcement
Twitter had earlier announced that it would remove the verified checkmark status of accounts that were verified as notable before Musk’s takeover unless they subscribed to Twitter Blue or the business-focused Twitter Verified Organizations plan. Twitter posted in March that it would start winding down its legacy verified programme and deleting the checkmarks on April 1. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue.”
Elon Musk’s New Twitter Verification Policy Leaves Indian Celebrities Unverified