Elon Musk says Twitter will finally remove legacy checkmarks on 4/20
Elon Musk said that Twitter will finally move to remove the legacy blue checkmarks on April 20 or 4/20 because he can’t let go of that joke. This is the “final date,” he said in a tweet. If the move goes through, Twitter will have verification marks only for paid users and businesses, and government entities and officials.
The company initially announced last month that legacy checkmarks will be removed on April 1. But like many Musk-promised deadlines, the date passed and nothing happened.
Earlier today, Musk gave an interview to BBC over a Twitter Spaces session. When asked about how taking away verification marks would impact disinformation spread, Musk said “I think the media is a driver of misinformation much more than the media would like to admit that they are.”
Earlier this month, in a now-deleted tweet, Musk pointed out that the company was going to give “a few week’s grace” to legacy verified accounts.
Last month, Musk also said that Twitter will stop recommending non-verified accounts on its “For You” algorithmic timeline starting April 15. Recently, the company changed the label shown when someone taps on the verification mark to “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account.” This made it harder for people to differentiate between Twitter Blue subscribers and legacy verified accounts.
The social network is also reportedly working on verification through government ID, which will Twitter Blue users them hide their checkmarks.
Additionally, Musk has been pushing for businesses and media brands to pay for organizational verification that costs $1,000 per month. He took away the New York Times’ verification mark after the publication refused to pay for it. Apart from NYT, other publications like the Washington Post and Politico have also said that they won’t pay any fees for verification.
