"Pay Your 5K": Elon Musk Removes Tinubu, Wizkid, Davido, Obi, Atiku, Others' Twitter Blue Verification Badges

• Twitter has started removing thousands of verification check marks, including those of public figures in Nigeria
• The blue check badges were previously offered for free, but since taking over, Elon Musk has emphasised the need for them to be paid for
• Nigerian singers, including Davido, Burna Boy, and Wizkid, have lost their verification badges as the deadline for payment expires

Twitter has started removing thousands of verification checkmarks from verified accounts worldwide, including the blue check badge of some notable Nigerian public figures.

The CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk, previously announced that the final date to remove the free blue badge was April 20, 2023.

Why is Musk removing verification checkmarks?

Since taking over Twitter in October, Musk has emphasised a subscription model, offering blue badges to users who pay a monthly fee of $8 (N5,000) in his bid to generate revenue for his new company.

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Elon Musk removes Tinubu, Obi, others' Twitter verification badge

On Thursday, April 20, 2023, a check on the Twitter handles of several high-profile accounts, including Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, and Nigerian musicians Davido, Burna Boy, and Wizkid, as well as many journalists, revealed that the blue verification badge for their accounts had disappeared.

Also, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Christiano Ronaldo, and former owner of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, are prominent personalities who have lost their blue checks.

The removal of the check marks may be linked to their failure to pay the verification subscription fee before the deadline announced by Musk.

Musk's new Twitter regime

Twitter's previous leadership, led by Jack Dorsey, had used the blue check mark to verify accounts belonging to public organisations and high-profile users, identifying them as authentic. The verification badge was also considered a status symbol on social media.

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However, since completing the takeover of Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion, Musk has emphasised the need to turn the company into a profitable venture, despite resistance and backlash. He insisted that paying for verification is the right thing to do.

Facebook also wants users to pay to be verified

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Mark Zuckerberg had taken a page from Elon Musk's playbook and announced plans to charge users for verification.

Zuckerberg explained that users signing up for Meta's new systems would receive exclusive stickers for stories and reels and 100 free monthly stars, or the digital currency used to tip Facebook creators.

Dailymail reports that the verification will cost $11.99/month on the web and $14.99/month on iOS.

Source: Legit.ng