The reinstatement of blue verified check marks on Twitter profiles has caused controversy among public figures, with many insisting they will not pay for the privilege. In response to the announcement that legacy blue ticks would be removed from the site on April 20th, leaving only those who had paid for a subscription, hashtags such as #BlockTheBlueChecks trended, and several celebrities left the platform. However, on Saturday evening, some profiles had their verified status reinstated without payment, causing confusion among users. Despite claims from Elon Musk that he is removing the blue tick from thousands of legacy accounts unless they sign up for Blue, many public figures have had their status reinstated for free, leading to accusations of unfair treatment. Some accounts with over a million followers, such as Andy Murray, had their blue ticks reinstated, while others who had been pushing the #BlockTheBlue hashtag, including journalist Matt Binder, were given verified status. Many celebrities expressed their displeasure at the situation, with rapper Lil Nas X tweeting that he had not paid for the blue tick and warning “u will feel my wrath tesla man!” Meanwhile, comedian Dara Ó Briain, who had not been verified before the cull, expressed confusion at finding he had been given a blue tick.
