Ajit Karn
Twitter war erupts between Elon Musk, Stephen King over blue tick. Since becoming Twitter’s new CEO, billionaire Elon Musk has implemented significant changes, such as laying off employees and implementing a charge for blue tick.
Musk has been heavily criticized for the modifications he made to Twitter. Many are currently criticizing him for removing legacy blue checkmarks — the verification insignia obtained by users under the previous system — from the handles of those who have not subscribed to Blue.
Musk acknowledged, however, that he is paying for some prominent Twitter accounts to retain their blue checkmarks. Musk is reportedly sponsoring renowned author Stephen King’s blue tick, and King does not appear to be pleased.
Stephen King tweeted that the funds expended on his verification should be donated to charity in light of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
“I believe Mr. Musk should donate my check to charity,” The Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine, comes highly recommended. It’s only $8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could contribute a little more,” he tweeted.
The tweet from King to Musk was in response to Musk’s claim that he retained his blue check despite not subscribing to the platform’s blue check service, which now costs USD 8 per month. King stated, “My Twitter account indicates that I have subscribed to Twitter Blue.” “I haven’t. My Twitter profile indicates I have provided a phone number. I haven’t.”
Musk did not appreciate King’s remark regarding charity. He responded to the author by declaring his donation of USD 100 million to Ukraine and questioning the latter’s contribution.’
“I’ve contributed $100 million to Ukraine; how much have you contributed? (We declined the money from the Department of Defense, by the way),” Musk inquired.
Musk went on to describe how SpaceX has sustained a financial loss by continuing to finance its Starlink service in Ukraine despite the Department of Defense’s refusal to provide funding.
The blue tick functioned as a means of preventing the impersonation of famous people and combating false information.”On April 1st, we will begin tapering down legacy verified and removing legacy verified checkmarks. Sign up for Twitter Blue to retain your blue checkmark on Twitter,” Twitter said in a March blog post.
Twitter first introduced the blue check mark system in 2009 to help users distinguish between authentic and imposter or parody accounts among celebrities, politicians, corporations and brands, news organizations, and other accounts “of public interest.” Previously, the company did not charge for verification.
Also read this:Twitter merges with Elon Musk’s everything app called ‘X’
Within two weeks of the company’s acquisition last year, Musk launched Twitter Blue with the check-mark badge as one of the premium benefits.
