Facepalm: There was a time when individuals strived to have a blue tick next to their name on Twitter, now known as X, signifying that they are a prominent public figure. Now that anyone can buy the checkmark with a monthly fee, the platform is allowing them to hide what was once a status symbol.
Twitter Blue, now called the definitely-not-porno-sounding X Blue, gives subscribers features such as being able to edit posts within a one-hour window of sending them, cutting the number of ads they see by half, creating much longer posts, and receiving prioritized rankings in conversations and search. They also get the blue check mark for their $8 per month or $84 per year.
But what was once something people revered is now the target of mockery from many X users, as the meme below illustrates.
Technically we still can use the "This mf'r paid for Twitter" meme since we don't pay for it. pic.twitter.com/KrHhM71tXf
– Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) April 23, 2023
It appears that X is aware of this trend and is offering subscribers the option to hide the checkmark, though the service's help center entry suggests doing so will come at a cost.
"As a subscriber, you can choose to hide your checkmark on your account. The checkmark will be hidden on your profile and posts," X states. "The checkmark may still appear in some places and some features could still reveal you have an active subscription. Some features may not be available while your checkmark is hidden."
Soon after he took over Twitter, Elon Musk said the company's "lords and peasants" system was "bullsh*t," and that paying $8 per month for a checkmark and other features was "power to the people."
The change to a subscription model led to one person pretending to be Eli Lilly and crashing the pharmaceutical company's stock price after they tweeted it would no longer charge for insulin. Senator Ed Markey also got into a spat with Musk over the ease at which a Washington Post reporter set up a fake account pretending to be the politician. The senator warned Musk to fix things or face intervention from Congress.
Some celebrities, including Stephen King, said they wouldn't pay for X Blue. It resulted in the company hiding which users had paid for the checkmark and which ones hadn't – King's account does carry the verified mark.
In other recent X/Twitter news, Musk confirmed the iconic blue bird logo that has been associated with company for over a decade was being replaced with an X. There was also news that X Corp. is suing an anti-hate group that said the platform is toxic.
https://www.techspot.com/news/99656-x-formerly-twitter-now-blue-subscribers-hide-their.html
