Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has announced that the platform’s coveted “blue tick” will now cost users $8 (£7) a month, criticizing the current system as a “bull***”.
Musk himself said in a tweet: “Twitter’s current lord and farmer system is a bull*** for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark.
“People Power! Blue is $8 a month.”
Musk said the cost will be “adjusted by country, proportional to purchasing power parity.”
Musk also said that for the new monthly fee, users will get “priority for replies, mentions, and searches,” as well as the ability to post long video and audio clips.
He offers subscribers a paywall bypass for “publishers willing to work with us.”
Read more: Super app or ‘Wild West’?The future of Twitter under Elon Musk
The fee, he said, would provide the platform with “a revenue stream that rewards content creators.”
A blue tick next to a person’s Twitter account lets users know that the public interest account is genuine.
Twitter stipulates that to receive the blue badge, your account must be “authentic, compelling and active.” There is a six-step verification process.
Last month, Musk completed his High-profile acquisition of social media platform for $44bn (£38bn), Self-proclaimed terms of reference Make sure everyone’s timeline is the ultimate home for free speech.
The news follows a tweet from Twitter’s head of advertising, Sarah Personette, who has joined a number of executives who have parted ways with the platform.
Ms. Personette, who is chief customer officer, said she had resigned and followed other colleagues out the door, including former CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal, who was fired by Musk last week.
hateful content
Her resignation comes as advertisers and users ponder whether Musk will reverse former U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on Twitter — and could lead to an increase in divisive speech on the platform.
Since Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter, experts have noticed a surge in hateful content.
According to the Cyber Infectious Diseases Institute, which identifies “threats to cyber society,” the use of the n-word on the platform has increased by nearly 500 percent.
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