Photo Courtesy of Twitter
High-profile Twitter users may have to pay for the coveted blue check on Twitter.
On Sunday, Twitter’s new CEO, Elon Musk, posted a cryptic tweet regarding the social media platform’s upcoming verification process.
“The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” the 51-year-old multi-billionaire wrote.
The South Africa native
is reportedly looking for ways to monetize the site quickly after spending $44 billion purchasing the popular social media platform in a deal finalized last week. Musk, the world’s richest man, plans to create a paywall via a subscription service to charge owners of verified accounts to keep the benefit.According to The Verge, verified Twitter users will be required to pay $19.99 for an enhanced Twitter Blue subscription. Current blue check owners will have 90 days to get with the new program or risk losing the coveted badge.
Musk intends to launch the new feature by November 7, and he also issued a cautionary warning to the platform’s employees– putting them under immense pressure. The staff must look for new jobs if the tech team fails to meet the deadline.
There haven’t been established guidelines regarding how verified government agencies, politicians or businesses will be affected. Still, Musk made it clear that they should pay to use the platform.
Reactions to Musk’s tweeted initiative varied.
Some users called the billionaire out.