Twitter will remove ‘legacy’ verified blue ticks today

Twitter is saying goodbye to its ‘old’ blue ticks today following Elon Musk’s controversial decision to change the platform’s verification system.

Countless ticks are expected to disappear from Twitter accounts for users unwilling to pay £11 a month for the traditional blue badge.

Legacy Blue Checks were initially given to verified accounts of people of public interest, including celebrities, politicians and journalists.

But after Musk’s acquisition, only those who subscribed to Twitter Blue can keep a blue check, while companies now have to pay for a gold check.

This decision came as part of Musk’s efforts to abolish the so-called “lords & peasants system for those who have and don’t have a blue check mark.”

April 1 was the first date to kick-start tick culling, but many stayed past this date

By changing the system, Musk hopes that Twitter will become a “digital town square” by restoring free speech and trust.

April 1 was the original date to jump-start the clearing of ‘old’ ticks, but many were left behind after this date, leading to confusion.

Ten days later, Musk then announced that the “cut-off date” for removing these ticks would be April 20.

The date is believed to be a sly reference to cannabis, with the number 420 being the time when it is traditionally smoked.

The billionaire was famously filmed smoking the drug on a live podcast in 2018 alongside comedian Joe Rogan.

Musk tweeted, “Last date to remove obsolete blue checks is 4/20.”

After Musk’s message, users quickly expressed their disappointment with the decision.

One user said, “I’m not worried about losing my verified check. I’m afraid everyone will lose theirs. The value of the tick does not lie with the holder, but with the people trying to determine whether they can trust the source.’

Another added: “The whole policy makes no sense. It’s like taking trophies away from people who earned them (vetted) and letting everyone buy their trophy. The trophy means nothing now.’

On the other hand, best-selling author Stephen King was excited about the announcement and tweeted, “Big whoop.”

One person jokingly replied, “But Mr. King…how am I ever going to know it’s really you?”

Gold business checkmarks and gray government checkmarks are two other changes to the verification system that have been implemented in the past year.

While governments don’t have to pay for their new gray ticks, businesses must pay £11,400 a year if they want to keep this official seal of approval.

Blue badges are now only available to those paying £11 a month on Twitter

Twitter was flooded with comments following the announcement of Elon Musk’s blue tick

An additional £50 per month is also added if the company has affiliate accounts.

These fees are still ‘subject to change’ as the platform strives to ‘improve’ its services and change features ‘from time to time’.

However, deleting unpaid ticks has given rise to numerous impersonation accounts impersonating celebrities and other individuals.

One user fooled others into thinking that former US President Donald Trump tweeted, “Here’s why Elon Musk’s plan isn’t working.”

Another account posed as 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.

In November, he tweeted, “Keep in mind that Twitter will be doing a lot of stupid things in the coming months. We keep what works and change what doesn’t work.’