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All verified accounts on Twitter will be unverified if you have not subscribed monthly

All verified accounts on Twitter will be unverified if you have not subscribed

Twitter is ending a verification system that blue-marked accounts it determined were authentic and in the public interest, the company said Thursday. Twitter will begin shutting down the system on April 1. Checkmarks, which were free, are now available through Twitter Blue, a subscription service the company launched last year. Under the previous program, celebrities, officials, journalists and others the company deemed prominent could request verification. News feeds, fans, parodies and other similar accounts were inappropriate.

All verified accounts on Twitter will be unverified if you have not subscribed

CEO Elon Musk introduced Twitter Blue shortly after buying Twitter in October, describing it as a way to increase revenue and stop trolls and bots. The $8-a-month service, which also lets users edit and undo tweets, was quickly pulled after imitators flourished. It was relaunched in December. Twitter Blue does not require accounts to be visible. Criteria for the service include being non-fraudulent, active and older than 90 days.

But the change may not be as dramatic as first thought. Musk added early Friday morning that users associated with a verified organization will still be verified. This could mean that many professionals who use Twitter will either keep their verification marks or be issued new ones. Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, also noted that Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to hide the verification checkmarks if they choose.

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