It has been a few days since Twitter has purged all non-paid verified accounts–including a number of notable celebrities, brands, and media outlets. It’s a move that’s unfair and undemocratic–especially with these accounts being verified for free before Elon Musk decided to take over and make Twitter a hot mess. Despite the verified account purge, it seems that Twitter is inconsistent with its move.
Because Musk wants Twitter to earn money beyond advertising, it is asking everyone Php 440 a month to get a much-coveted Blue check, along with a few other perks. A lot of prominent celebrities lost their blue check, but there are a few that still have them–with some having their subscription “covered” by Musk himself.
While Musk did confirm that he paid for the Twitter Blue subscription of some users, there are those that claim to have never paid but still retained the blue check mark–and that’s the case with Twitch and YouTube streamer Valkyrae. Heck, even deceased personalities like Kobe Bryant still have their blue check despite being no longer active on Twitter–and being impossible for them to get a subscription.
Even those who actually subscribed to Twitter Blue subscription have an inconsistent experience: one of our friends in the tech media industry did subscribe to Twitter Blue, but did not get the coveted blue check on his profile–though he was able to access some features.
For organizations, Twitter has a steep monthly fee to keep their verified badges. It will cost you Php 54,400 a month (excluding taxes) to keep your organization’s Twitter account verified, while you need to spend an additional Php 2,720 for every additional affiliated account. That’s a very, very steep price for any organization that depends on Twitter–especially for small businesses.
There’s also an inconsistency here: Rappler, for one, still has its Blue check, and claims that it did not pay any monthly verification fee to Twitter. We checked the Twitter accounts of other local media–and while they still kept their blue check, we don’t have any confirmation if they paid for the monthly verification or not.
As for differentiating the blue, gold, and grey check marks, it’s a mess on Twitter: TV personality Stephen A. Smith, for one, got a gold check and not the usual blue one, and the same applies to KPop groups Itzy and Red Velvet–all while other groups like Blackpink just only have the Blue check.
For local Twitter accounts, there are a few that have the gold check instead of the blue check. One good example is ABS-CBN’s Star Magic, which is consistent with what the gold check is for. Major brands like Xiaomi also get the gold check, while Complex Sneakers–which is a media outfit–got the gold check. We’re confused with the latter since Complex Sneakers should be under media–and outfits like Reuters got a blue check.
The gray check, on the other hand, is more consistent but is very elusive. Among those who have this is the Twitter accounts of Pope Francis and local government agencies like DoTR, PNP, and MMDA. For the grey check, Twitter is not charging any additional fees since most accounts with this verification are government agencies or high-ranking government officials.
We’re just a few days in since Twitter has revamped which verified accounts get a blue, gold, or grey check, and it’s inconsistent at best. It seems that Twitter is becoming less democratic and more restrictive ever since Musk took over–and it appears that Musk does have a bias for some personalities that he’s willing to shoulder over the monthly costs of Twitter Blue.
