Twitter has reinstated the Blue verification mark for large accounts, even if they did not pay for it. This follows the removal of thousands of legacy verification checkmarks on April 20th.
Over the weekend, multiple top accounts with more than 1 million followers, including writer Neil Gaiman, footballer Riyad Mahrez, musician Lil Nas X, actress Janel Parrish Long, and British TV presenter Richard Osman, had their verification marks restored without paying for the subscription.
The recent drama of Elon Musk and others handling legacy checkmarks engulfed Twitter, causing multiple large and notable accounts to lose their verification mark, including those belonging to the Pope, Shakira, and Lady Gaga. The Pope now has a grey checkmark meant for government and multilateral organizations.
Twitter is extending the gift of paid subscriptions to many accounts. Additionally, Twitter has restored verification for celebrity accounts who have passed away, including Michael Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, Barbara Walters, Paul Walker, and Jamal Khashoggi. However, it implies that these individuals paid for the subscription and verified their phone numbers.
While Twitter is considering handing out a free verification mark to the top 10,000 brands and companies, it is not clear if the same policy applies to personal accounts. A programmer named Travis Brown analyzed accounts with more than 1 million followers and found that almost 110 do not have Twitter verification at the moment. Notable names without a verification mark currently include actor Ryan Reynolds and Brazilian social media influencer Felipe Neto.
Verification has been a hotly contested topic under the new Twitter management. Musk launched paid verification shortly after taking over the company, but it backfired when the site was marred with fake celebrity and brand accounts. Additionally, Twitter is now asking brands to pay for verification to run ad campaigns on the platform in a money-grabbing move.
The social network is showing a shortcut to sign up for verified organization services in the sidebar of all accounts. However, Twitter’s organizational verification requires a non-refundable fee of $1,000, even if the account’s application is rejected.
Musk is banking on Twitter Blue being a big moneymaker for the company. However, analysis from Sensor Tower suggests that it brought in just $11 million from mobile subscriptions in the first three months after the launch in December.