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Barron’s senior writer Al Root weighs in on Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition and how that will impact the rest of his business empire on ‘Barron’s Roundtable.’
Twitter CEO Elon Musk followed through on his pledge to bring a paid subscription plan to the social media platform as the billionaire attempts to overhaul the platform’s verification system.
In an update to Apple iOS devices, Twitter said users who “sign up now” can receive the blue checkmark next to their names, “just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk smiles as he addresses guests at the Offshore Northern Seas 2022 (ONS) meeting in Stavanger, Norway on August 29, 2022. (Photo by Carina Johansen / NTB / AFP/ Getty Images / Getty Images)
The change represents the end of Twitter’s current verification system, which was launched in 2009 to prevent impersonations of high-profile accounts such as celebrities and politicians.
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Before the overhaul, Twitter had about 423,000 verified accounts, many of them rank-and-file journalists from around the globe that the company verified, regardless of how many followers they had.
Twitter users with $7.99 a month blue check mark subscriptions will also be able to post longer videos and have their content prioritized in replies, mentions and searches.
The launch comes days after Musk announced the plan, tweeting that the platform’s “current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls—.”
Experts have raised grave concerns about upending the platform’s verification system that, while not perfect, has helped Twitter’s 238 million daily users determine whether the accounts they were getting information from were authentic.
The update Twitter made to the iOS version of its app does not mention verification as part of the new “blue check” system.
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The new strategy, Musk said, will give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators.
The announcement prompted fierce pushback, including from horror writer Stephen King, who said that, “Twitter should pay” him to stay on the app.
A Twitter headquarters sign is shown in San Francisco, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Employees were bracing for widespread layoffs at Twitter on Friday, as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the social platform. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu / AP Newsroom)
In 2021, Twitter unveiled the Twitter Blue subscription program as a separate service, charging $4.99 a month.
Twitter Blue gives users the ability to access ad-free articles from some news publishers, a special tab showing what links are most popular on the platform and the ability to change the color of their app icon.
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The Associated Press contributed to this post.
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