Elon Musk, the entrepreneur who recently has bought Twitter had a brief exchange on Twitter with the writer Stephen King, in which he talks about the possibility of making users pay to get the so-called “blue check”, that is the system used so far by Twitter to verify the identity of public people such as politicians, companies, journalists, people from the entertainment world and so on.
We have to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely solely on advertisers. How about $ 8?
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
King had commented on Monday the rumors (unofficial for now) that Twitter could have charged for the blue tick, in a colorful way: “20 dollars a month to keep my blue tick? Fuck, they’re the ones who should pay me. If they set up this thing, I’m leaving like Enron “, where the reference is to the American oil company that suddenly collapsed in 2001. At that point Musk responded by bargaining:” We have to pay the bills somehow! Twitter can’t rely on advertising alone. How about $ 8? ‘
This brief exchange – which took place in the style of Musk, accustomed to responding directly to the criticisms and suggestions of famous and non-famous people who turn to him on Twitter – is so far the most explicit confirmation that Musk intends to start a payment system for the identity confirmation service, which could cost up to $ 20 a month, according to journalistic rumors. Earlier, you said that “the whole verification system is being revamped”.
The whole verification process has been renewed at this time
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 30, 2022
He also responded – again on Twitter – to a survey done by a close associate of his who asked users how much they were willing to pay for the blue check. The overwhelming majority replied that they would pay nothing.
Interesting
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2022
Currently it is possible to obtain the blue check for free, but it is necessary to undergo a (rather agile) identity verification system that requires the production of documents and proof that the applicant has the necessary requisites. The categories that currently can ask for the blue check they are: government and public offices; newspapers and media workers; companies, brands and organizations; show; sports and video games; activists and organizers; creator of content and influential people.
Musk’s plans for now are neither public nor confirmed, but according to journalistic rumors they foresee that the verification process is extended to more categories, and that it will then be paid for.
This would likely help Twitter accounts, but it would create according to experts numerous fake and spam account problems. Unlike other social networks (such as Facebook) on Twitter it is possible to log in with false identities, and the blue check was created precisely to distinguish public people (or those who hold a relevant role for the public, such as journalists) from any impostors.
But if the blue tick is paid, some of the people who are currently verified may no longer be verified (because they decide not to pay), and this could create confusion and problems with the reliability of the information circulating on the social network.
