Musk's decision to charge for Twitter verified status ticks off users

After taking control of social media network Twitter on October 27, multi-billionaire Elon Musk has made several claims of structural changes that have enraged the Twitter community. The latest in his proposed list of modifications to be made to the bird app is that Twitter users who desire to keep or acquire a ‘blue tick’ – verified status – will have to purchase it for a cost of $8 monthly.

Original reports indicated that Musk will charge a fee of $20 in exchange for the blue tick. However, after much protest from netizens, he brought it down to $8. Citing reasons such as “we [Twitter] need to pay the bills somehow” – Musk proposes that this system will free the app from bots and scammers.

He also believes that this will prove to be a more egalitarian way of acquiring the verified status than the existing method in which only eminent and widely recognisable personalities are rewarded the blue tick.

Musk claims that this cost will come with a host of incentives, such as, being able to post longer tweets, audios, videos, a reduction in advertisements, and many such privileges. In what appears like a “premium subscription” to the app, critics believe that Musk’s plan of monetising the blue ticks allows for anyone and everyone to tweet from a position of power.

Nu Wexler, former Twitter Head of Global Policy Communications, cautioned Musk against this move, stating that “introducing a fee for blue ticks could make it harder to spot disinformation.”

“Verification is one of the ways that journalists, academic researchers and some users use to filter out disinformation or low quality information, charging a fee makes it harder to sift through disinformation,” he added.

Similarly other critics have also highlighted the risk this shift carries, since the blue tick also served as a shield against impersonation.

Author Stephen King spoke out against the fee, mentioning the fall of giant US corporation Enron.

The reduction of ads has also triggered various companies who regularly display their ads on Twitter. Musk who aims to generate a steady source of revenue for Twitter through this “blue tick subscriptions” replacing company-sponsored ads, swiftly shut down his complainants by tweeting: 

Yoel Roth, Twitter’s Head of Safety & Integrity, reported yesterday that there has been a “surge in hateful conduct” since Musk’s takeover. Referring to primarily the backlash against Musk’s idea of monetising the blue tick and other similar ventures, Roth wrote: “We’ve made measurable progress, removing more than 1500 accounts and reducing impressions on this content to nearly zero.”

Roth’s removal of “hate-bots” and other critiques have brought into forefront Musk’s initial statements around “free-speech” and how he aims to transform Twitter into a space where “anything within legal limits” can be voiced.