New Delhi:
Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has confirmed the microblogging website will charge $8 per month if anybody wants the “blue tick”, which shows an account has been verified as genuine.
“Twitter’s current lords and peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Mr Musk tweeted.
“Price adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity,” Mr Musk said, without telling the method that he used to decide “purchasing power”.
Mr Musk’s new plan for the verified icon also includes giving genuine users some superpowers.
“You will also get: Priority in replies, mentions and search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam. Ability to post long video and audio. Half as many ads. And paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us,” Mr Musk, who is also the chief executive of Tesla Motors, tweeted.
Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.
Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2022
Mr Musk’s Twitter takeover poses big challenges for the businessman who faces calls from people of all political hues to hear them out. These demands include requests for bringing back on the platform people like former US President Donald Trump, whose Twitter account was suspended for allegedly dog-whistling supporters to take to violence after the US election results in January 2021 showed he had lost.