Twitter begins charging businesses £950 a MONTH for a gold verification badge
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Twitter starts charging businesses £950 per MONTH for a gold verification badge plus an additional £50 for connected business accounts
- Companies have to pay £11,400 every year to keep their golden tick
- Fees are part of Twitter’s effort to be the “most trusted place” online
- Changes follow Musk’s belief that Twitter’s previous verification was “corrupt.”
Twitter has started charging companies £950 a month for a gold verification badge after controversial changes under CEO Elon Musk.
Businesses wanting to keep their ‘official’ Twitter tick are given no choice but to pay £11,400 a year – plus an extra £50 a month to have connected business accounts.
The allegations stem from Twitter’s efforts to be “the most trusted place on the web,” with gold badges launched in December to verify the legitimacy of companies online.
Prior to Musk’s takeover, Twitter’s classic blue ticks were free and handed out to anyone who qualified, but even these have now risen to £11 a month.
Despite these price increases, fees are still ‘subject to change’ as the platform strives to ‘improve’ its services and change features ‘from time to time’.
Businesses have to pay £11,400 every year to keep their gold tick on Twitter
Changes follow Elon Musk’s belief that Twitter’s previous verification system was “corrupt.”
On its website, Twitter said, “Any organization that purchases a subscription to Verified Organizations will receive a gold check mark and square avatar if it’s a business or non-profit organization, or a gray check mark and circular avatar if it’s a government or multilateral organization.” is. .
In addition, organizations may choose to affiliate with an individual or entity associated with them. An affiliate account is verified (indicated by a blue, gold, or gray check mark) and an affiliate badge, a small image of the parent company’s profile picture, is displayed next to the check mark.”
Affiliate accounts, which cost £50/month, can be given to any member brands, support handles, employees or related teams.
But this isn’t limited to just businesses, as Twitter says governments can also connect related entities, officials and districts.
There is currently no limit to the number of branches an organization can have – provided they are all related.
Rumors of the new gold tax first emerged after a “leaked” email last month in which a Twitter employee allegedly offered an organization “early access” to verification.
The email, shared by social media analyst Matt Navarra, said a subscription with a gold check mark would cost $1,000.
The changes stem from Musk’s belief that the previous verification system was problematic.
“Twitter’s Blue Verified legacy has unfortunately been deeply damaged, so will disappear in a few months,” he said in February.
In a Feb. 2 email shared by social media analyst Matt Navarra, Twitter employee Evan Jones mentioned the subscription price and offered the organization a “gold check” in return.
Musk posted a tweet in February saying that the current “legacy” checkmarks will be removed
Last year, Musk told advertisers he wanted Twitter to become a “digital town square,” but not a “free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said without consequence.”
As part of this, he wanted to remove bot accounts and restore freedom of speech and trust in the platform.
But now that anyone can request one of Twitter’s blue checks, many have started impersonating celebrities and other individuals.
One user fooled others former US President Donald Trump tweeted, “Here’s why Elon Musk’s plan isn’t working.”
Another account has been impersonated former President George W. Bush — who appeared to post an unsavory tweet about Iraq — and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
After his takeover, Musk did provide a lot of ‘stupid things’ on the site.