Twitter: Why have some blue ticks returned?
Last week marked the end of an era for some Twitter users: blue ticks were finally removed from accounts the social media giant previously certified as notable.
Individuals with verified status had it removed on Thursday and only those who had chosen to pay £9.60 for the privilege were allowed to keep their blue tick.
But mystery ensued on the platform - as so often has been the case since Elon Musk's takeover - with users being verified despite insisting they hadn't signed up for Twitter Blue.
American author Stephen King, who has previously criticised Mr Musk's new subscription service, tweeted: "My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t."
His blue tick (or blue checkmark as Americans call it) remained, but that wasn't the case for probably thousands of others.
TV presenter Piers Morgan had his blue tick removed before appearing to reveal he'd decided to pay for the benefit - the same was the case with his former Good Morning Britain colleage Susanna Reid.
Ms Reid explained that she'd signed up because "it’s a site I use daily" and "I want a verified account", while Mr Morgan said Twitter provides "tremendously good value".
What is Twitter Blue?
Aside from being verified with a blue tick, the £9.60 fee ($8) gives users the ability to edit their tweets after posting them, to write much longer posts and see 50% less ads.
A range of other Twitter Blue benefits includes:
Ability to format text in tweets to bold and italic
Being prioritised in rankings in conversations and search
Subscribers can upload videos up to ~60 minutes long and up to 2GB file size
SMS two-factor authentication for additional security
But other celebrities did not feel they should pay for a blue tick, and many appealed to Mr Musk for their verified status to be restored.
"May I please have my blue check back? It would mean a lot to me," wrote Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen.
Others took their lack of verified status on the chin. Radio presenter Greg James even used it as an opportunity to taunt Mr Musk over the recent failed rocket launch carried out by his SpaceX firm.
"I lost my blue tick but your rocket blew up so who’s the real loser," Mr James joked.
Blue ticks return to some users
Mr Sheen's wish was soon granted. Less than 24 hours after losing his blue tick, the Two And A Half Men actor was once again verified.
"Oh my! it’s like Xmas and my birthday all at once!" he wrote on Twitter.
He wasn't the only person honoured with a returned blue tick. Many celebrities had their verified status restored but some were at pains to insist they had not paid.
Actor Sir Ian McKellen tweeted: “Despite the implication when you click the blue badge that has mysteriously re-appeared beside my name, I am not paying for the ‘honour’.”
According to many reports the blue check marks have been reinstated only to accounts with a million followers or more, including tennis player Sir Andy Murray.
“My blue tick has reappeared. For free… some game,” Sir Andy posted.
Many celebrities seemed displeased that their verified check mark had reappeared and targeted their incredulity at Mr Musk, including rapper and singer Lil Nas X.
“On my soul I didn’t pay for Twitter blue, u will feel my wrath tesla man!” he tweeted.
Elon Musk 'personally pays' for some celebrities to be verified
Amid the confusion over why some accounts remained verified beyond the April 20 deadline for signing up to Twitter Blue, the platform's owner claimed he'd paid from his own pocket for some blue ticks.
An account sharing entertainment news tweeted: "Elon Musk reveals he is ‘personally paying’ the Twitter Blue subscriptions of some celebrities to keep their checkmark."
"Just Shatner, LeBron and King," the billionaire responded, claiming he was funding blue ticks for actor William Shatner, basketballer LeBron James and author Stephen King.
But subscribing to Twitter Blue or having the owner pay for it is not the only way to be verified on Twitter.
Organisational blue ticks
Some Twitter users now have a silver tick next to their accounts, which highlight that it is verified because “it is a government or multilateral organisation account”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer are among those with the new checkmarks, as are accounts such as those for Pope Francis and the White House.
Several newssites such as ITV News and BBC have gold ticks - which have not been paid for.
Twitter says these accounts are verified because "it's an official organisation on Twitter".
More confusion as celebrities question their verified status
Meanwhile, comedian Dara O Briain, who was not verified before the blue tick cull on April 20 but has 2.6 million followers, also received one and shared his confusion on Sunday morning.
“So, despite never ever actually having had a blue tick, (I liked the idea that I might have been a parody account all this time) I wake up this morning to find I have been given one,” he tweeted.
“That is peculiar. No, I haven’t paid, nor requested it. Can I get into nightclubs now?”
Some celebrities have felt so averse to being verified on Twitter that they made changes to their profiles so their blue ticks would be automatically removed.
Parodying an advert for household cleaning product Cillit Bang, comedian Charlie Brooker tweeted: “Hi, I’m Barry Scott. Blue tick reappeared?
“Change your name, then change it back. BANG! And the mark is gone.”
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