Elon Musk has carried out his threat, it will now be necessary to pay to have his certification on Twitter. While the little blue badge guaranteed credibility, with identity verification and certain conditions, including notoriety, many personalities lost their certification this Thursday.
The badge thus disappeared from the accounts of personalities like Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bill Gates or Lady Gaga, as well as those many journalists, professors and activists. The account of Pape also had its certification revoked, as did the Twitter co-founder’s account, Jack Dorsey.
The blue badge now flags users who pay eight dollars a month to have this distinction and other advantages of “Twitter Blue” (more visibility, technical privileges, fewer advertisements), like Taylor Swift or the Dalai Lama.
Some personalities – like Lebron James or Stephen King – were indignant to have to pay to have a certified account, and indicated that they would not. However, the two previously mentioned now have a blue badge. In response to a comment, Elon Musk said he paid for them.
