A variety of news outlets, celebrities, athletes, and even the White House have said they don’t plan to pay for Twitter Blue once the platform’s “legacy” blue checks disappear.
Twitter said last week that it would be “winding down” the programme, which Elon Musk previously called “deeply corrupted,” by removing the checks starting on April 1. But as of Saturday afternoon, the old checks still were active, so their future is unclear.
A former Twitter employee posted a series of tweets on Friday outlining why moving to all-paid verified accounts is risky, and how it could drive away some of platform’s biggest names who have posted for free for years.
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Individuals can subscribe to Twitter Blue for US$8 per month. Twitter has a separate programme for businesses called Verified Organizations, which offers a gold check and the chance to be affiliated with other accounts associated with your business, for a whopping US$1,000 per month.
That proposal reportedly was met with apprehension and criticism from businesses. Later, The New York Times reported an internal Twitter document that said the top 500 advertisers and 10,000 most-followed businesses would be able to keep their checks without shelling out the high fee.
Several news outlets have said they don’t plan to pay for the gold check. Others don’t plan to reimburse journalists who pay for Twitter Blue, largely saying that since blue checks only convey a user paid US$8, they no longer provide the credibility they once did, according to CNN.
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The cable news channel said it won’t be paying, and cited statements or internal memos from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Politico, BuzzFeed, Washington Post, and Vox that confirmed the outlets either wouldn’t pay for the gold check, or wouldn’t pay for staff to retain their blue checks.
Axios reported on Friday that the White House informed staff it would not pay for individuals to retain their blue checks, likely meaning the Biden administration will send out information through its official government accounts that feature grey, non-paid checkmarks.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether plans to remove the checks had changed, as Elon Musk revised the company’s media communications policy last month.
As the perceived deadline for the disappearance of blue checks approached, public figures across sports, media, and entertainment all chimed in on whether they’d keep the check:
Notoriously frugal NBA superstar LeBron James said on Friday afternoon he’d add it to the list of luxuries he does not indulge in, like ad-free music.
Jason Alexander, who famously portrayed George Costanza on the iconic sitcom “Seinfeld”, said earlier this week that he doesn’t plan to pay for Twitter, and that he likely will leave the platform once the checks are gone.
On a simpler note, actor and comedian Ben Stiller used what he assumed would be his last night with a blue check to enjoy a New York Knicks win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Music legend Dionne Warwick has also said she will not pay for paid Twitter features in the past, and said again Friday evening that she has better uses for her money.
Writer and podcaster Jemele Hill cited James’ tweet as an example of the paid-only checks driving big users away. She said she likely would follow suit.
Some journalists and others with legacy checks used what they assumed was their last night with the check to joke about joining non-verified Twitter, or by impersonating others and making jokes at their expense.
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